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Yuchi and Pertame families share language revival strategies in Alice Springs
Pertame language worker Samantha Armstrong (centre) says she was inspired by the Yuchi people. (ABC News: Xavier Martin)
In short:
Two Indigenous groups from opposite sides of the world — the Yuchi of Oklahoma and the Pertame of Central Australia — have formed a powerful partnership in their shared mission to revive their endangered first languages.
Yuchi families have travelled to Alice Springs, on Arrernte Country, to meet with the Pertame people.
What's next?
The two groups plan to continue mentoring one another, drawing strength from their relationship as they work to ensure their languages survive for generations to come.
In March, four-year-old Zoday Bearpaw stood before a crowd at a language forum in Alice Springs and told a story in the Native American Yuchi language.
"The rabbit went back inside the bag and rolled down the hill. The turkeys wanted to try that too," he said.
It sounds like a simple folktale, but for the Yuchi tribe of Oklahoma, USA, it marked something far more significant.
Zoday is among the first new generation in 100 years to speak Yuchi as a first language.
Zoday Bearpaw, four, tells a traditional Yuchi story in Alice Springs about a rabbit and a turkey. (ABC News: Christopher Murrkarany Fitzpatrick)
That moment unfolded in Alice Springs, on Arrernte Country, where Yuchi families who had travelled to from Oklahoma to meet with the Pertame people — one of the First Nations groups whose country lies south of the town.
Samantha Armstrong, a Pertame language worker and coordinator of the Pertame school, was in the crowd that day.
"Seeing them go from just one elder to a child speaking the language … it really inspired me … you know, if they can do it, then so can we."
Arrernte dancers welcome Yuchi visitors to Mparntwe/Alice Springs. (ABC: Chris Murrkarany Fitzpatrick)
Despite the distance between them, the Yuchi and Pertame people have discovered deep common ground in saving their languages.
"We have less than 31 language speakers of Pertame that grew up only speaking Pertame as their first language — they're mostly grandparents or great-grandparents," Ms Armstrong said.
Language begins at home
Zoday's parents, Micha and Keland Bearpaw, are among those leading the revival, raising their children to speak Yuchi as a first language.
"We dropped down to one speaker … and from her, we've been able to create at least 40 to 60 speakers now," Yuchi man Keland Bearpaw said.
"Our kids are the first generation to speak it from birth. That's how we rebuild — by starting young, in the home, every day.
Native American, Yuchi man Keland Bearpaw, with young people in Alice Springs. (ABC News: Chris Murrkarany Fitzpatrick)
"When it was taken from us, they started with the children, by taking the children and taking the language from the children," Micha Bearpaw said.
"So we're kind of reversing the damage by starting with our children."
Yuchi mother Micha Bearpaw says her people are reversing the removal of their language. (ABC News: Xavier Martin)
Despite being oceans apart, the Yuchi and Pertame are walking parallel paths — reviving their languages not through institutions, but by raising children to speak, live and dream in their mother tongue.
'Language is medicine'
The connection between the Pertame and Yuchi people began in 2019, when Pertame woman Vanessa Fairly and her grandmother, Kathy Bradshaw, attended a UN Indigenous Language workshop in New York.
It was organised by Richard Grounds, a Yuchi elder and inventor of the Yuchi's written language.
Elder Richard Grounds wears a shirt that says in Yuchi, "We Yuchi people are still here." (ABC News: Xavier Martin)
There, they learned about the Yuchi immersion methods and their shared struggle in saving their languages, sparking a friendship that's continued across years and continents.
Dr Grounds said without language, many young people became disconnected from who they are.
"Our language is so close to the core of who we are," he said.
"Without our languages, our youth began to become lost. We have real issues with substance abuse and suicide rates … so this has been a real healing process to reclaim our language.
"Our language is medicine."
The Pertame people visited the Yuchi people in 2022 and saw firsthand their immersion schools, where Yuchi children speak only Yuchi in their classrooms.
Arrente people welcome Yuchi tribesman Keland Bearclaw to Alice Springs (ABC News: Chris Murrkarany Fitzpatrick)
Inspired by this visit, the Pertame School became the first school in Australia to adopt this method, in 2023.
"We're raising the little ones up to become first language speakers, to carry on from that generation to this generation, and then so forth, hopefully [it] keeps going for future generations," Ms Armstrong said.
"We're trying to reverse the damage of assimilation government policies and language loss when we lose elder ones, by growing up younger ones now to become first or second language speakers of Pertame."
Ms Armstrong expressed urgency in their mission, with their elder speakers passing away.
"It's scary … because elders are passing away left right and centre," she said.
"Our language nest is the only place where you're going to learn [Pertame] language … [we're] saving Pertame for future generations."