Marksville, Louisiana
Tunica Language Project
Despite the losses associated with deliberate federal policies to extinguish Native cultures and languages, Tunica families have kept their language and cultural traditions alive. Although the last fluent speaker passed away 60 years ago, Tunica has worked diligently to renew their heritage and language, with beginning and mid-level language classes. This has resulted in 30 Tunika speakers with proficiency ranging from beginner to intermediate level. The Tunica Language and Culture Revitalization Program was created in 2014 to support a language training infrastructure. The CRF grant will support this program with the development of foundational resources for training classes and ongoing programs promoting language classes, cultural lifeways workshops, language camps, online content and outreach events.
