Waadookodaading Ojibwe Language Institute Report Provided by Director

By Lisa LaRonge

Executive Director

Waadookodaading Ojibwe Language Institute (WOLi), an indigenous 50l(c)(3) non-profit organization, operates a Kindergarten through 9th grade Ojibwe immersion track of education at the Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe Schools. The mission of WOLi is to create highly proficient speakers of Ojibwe who are grounded in local language, culture, and traditions while learning contemporary academics. ft was founded in 2000 by a group of elders, parents, and language activists. This started the long road leading to the current international recognition of Lac Courte Oreilles as one of the only areas in the United States in which Ojibwe is a language spoken by people under the age of fifty-five. While Ojibwe remains an endangered language, the efforts at Lac Courte Oreilles are contributing to the long-term goal of removing our language from the "endangered" list.

Waadookodaading students learn Ojibwe through culturally and environmentally revitalizing activities that integrate core content academics. At the beginning of the school year, students learn to harvest and process wild rice, in early spring they learn how to tap maple trees, make maple syrup, taffy, and sugar. Teachers prepare students through scaffolded activities throughout the year prior to outdoor learning. Ojibwe language, culture, beliefs, and philosophies are the vehicle through which students learn science, math, social studies, and other academic content, and students who graduate have high levels of Ojibwe proficiency and do well in subsequent English medium schools. English Language Arts instruction begins at grade 4.

Waadookodaading classrooms are located in two buildings behind the elementary wing of the LCO Ojibwe Schools campus. There are 51 students currently enrolled, from Lac Courte Oreilles, Red Cliff, Bad River, Lac du Flambeau, and Minnesota Chippewa tribes.

Waadookodaading has a diverse and qualified staff. They are scholars of language, educational methods, second language learning and teaching, and Ojibwe culture. They have been educated in both western academic settings and by our treasured elders, wisdom keepers, and lifeways experts.

Although its current primary focus is K-12 Ojibwe medium education, Waadookodaading has evolved as a regional institution for Ojibwe language revitalization by creating immersion teachers and providing technical assistance to other language and immersion school programs throughout the nation.

 Waadookodaading is part of a consortium to establish a National Native American Language Resource Center (N-NALRC) in order to provide high-quality capacity-building services to Regional Centers, technical assistance providers, Tribal organizations, and institutions of higher education, in order to support the revitalization of Native American languages. This project is a federally funded multi-year grant from the US Department of Education, Office of Indian Education.

In Fiscal Year 2024 a funding bill was approved, including $5 million appropriations for the Waadookodaading Ojibwe Language Institute Revitalization Center. This project is in pre-development phase. More exciting news to be released within the year.