Toward kəłłəx̌ íls [dancing with strength]: Language and Cultural Resurgence on the Colville Indian Reservation

The present dissertation delves into the history of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation’s language loss and trauma, what remains of our heritage languages, and the current policies – nationally, at the state level, and at the tribal level – that have been enacted to revitalize them. Centering family histories, personal narratives and interviews, this research tracks the history of heritage language use on the reservation, documents the trauma of US government-operated compulsory education for Indian children and subsequent language and culture loss, and discusses the various policies relative to language maintenance and revitalization on the reservation. First, I examine past actions perpetrated by the United States government which led to the state of Native American Peoples and their heritage languages and cultures today. Secondly, I look into current language ideologies on the Colville Reservation; particularly views regarding language maintenance and reproduction across generations. I conclude with an assessment of the community attitudes regarding the current efforts to revitalize Colville-Okanagan, Moses-Columbia, Nez Perce, and Sahaptin on and off the reservation and the implications thereof