Bringing back our language one student at time
This sacred message was given to jessie 'little doe' baird in Wôpanâôt8âôk (Wampanoag language) during the same dream for three nights in a row. During the dream she saw the same circle of faces...faces of her ancestors. At that time, she knew nothing of her people's language but little doe wondered if the words were in Wampanoag, the language of her ancestors.
Thus began a journey that, through the joint collaborative efforts of the Mashpee, Aquinnah, Assonet & Herring Pond Wampanoag communities, led to the birth of the Wôpanâak Language Reclamation Project (WLRP), a project that, after more than 150 years of dormancy, is bringing back to life the tribes' sacred privilege and right - our ancestral language.
Page from the bible translated into Wôpanâak by John Eliot in 1663. The existence of this bible and other legal documents written in the Wôpanâak language has made the reclamation efforts possible.
Click the image to see a full digital version of the Bible.
