8/1/2023 – 11/1/2023
$10,000
Project Leader: Wendy Shenk-Evans, Montessori Public Policy Initiative
Through this grant, the Indigenous Montessori Network had a platform to spotlight the many policy barriers within funding streams for language reclamation schools. Attendees from the US Department of Education, ANA, early childhood advocacy organizations and MPPI staff and board learned first about the depth and breadth of language reclamation and how it binds individuals to their ancestral lands, culture, and knowledge. Panelists explained that vital nature of language reclamation because it encompasses so much more than language acquisition because it connects people to the land, to their culture and to knowledge. Attendees then learned about how fragmented Tribal funding streams are, how lack of true recognition of sovereignty impedes the distribution of funds in a timely manner, and how requiring English language assessments, given in English, is prohibitive to language reclamation programs accepting funds that they are entitled to. They were also reminded of the urgency of removing policy barriers to language reclamation work because as one panelist said, “Language work is critical, and time is something we don’t have.” Federal government officials left committed to elevating these issues with colleagues and supervisors. State policy makers and early childhood organizations in attendance left committed to reaching out to Tribes and Tribal programs in their context to better understand their needs and how their department or organization can be of support.