The University of Central Oklahoma’s Department of Modern Languages, in collaboration with the Citizen Potawatomi Nation will offer its first online Potawatomi language course in the 2023 fall semester. The course will share diverse Indigenous voices, introduce new language concepts and create new opportunities.
The elective course is available to any UCO student and will introduce them to the culture, history, structure and speech pattern of Bodéwadmimwen — the Potawatomi language. Additionally, the course will provide students with conversational practice and build a fundamental vocabulary.
“It is hard to overstate the value of learning and preserving tribal languages, as culture and expression are so deeply entwined,” said Catherine Webster, Ph.D., interim chair for the Department of Modern Languages at Central.
“We are delighted to partner with the Citizen Potawatomi Nation to offer this important course.”
In the course, four modules will guide students through a Potawatomi- centered worldview to create story listeners and story tellers. After completing the course, students will appreciate the significance of Bodéwadmimwen and join the revitalization efforts by writing their own original children's book.
For more information about the course, contact Guillermo Martínez Sotelo, Ph.D., associate professor of modern languages, at gmartinezsotelo@ uco.edu or 405-974-- 5857.