Language being brought back to life

Published 9:00 pm Monday, August 21, 2006

I would like to thank The Herald for the wonderful front page article on Friday about the Tulalip/Lushootseed Language Camp (“Kids find the words”). The article did a great job of explaining the importance of teaching this ancient language to the children of the Tulalip Tribes. I had the pleasure of being a small part of the language camp last week. I got to see first-hand all the hard work that the children put in helping to re-establishing the Lushootseed language as a part of their daily existence.

As The Herald article explained, the tribe has been able to take steps toward bringing back their language that was forbidden about a century ago. Seeing the enthusiasm that the children displayed each day that they spent at language camp helped me to see just how important the Lushootseed language is to all of the people of the Tulalip Tribes. Every child who attended the language camp helps the people to get closer to the goal of bringing the Lushootseed language back to life.

Thank you to all of the language camp staff and children for allowing me the pleasure of experiencing such an important part of your heritage with you this past week.

Carol Whitney

Marysville