MISSION — The Umatilla language is now accessible to anyone in the world with an internet connection.
In a press release, the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation announced that the Umatilla Language Dictionary is now online.
A collaboration between the CTUIR Language Program and Amazon Web Services, the tribes intent was to educate tribal members on their language and raise awareness about the tongue.
The prevalence of the Umatilla language has diminished over the years as many of its fluent speakers have died. The CTUIR established a language program in 1996 to preserve the language by recording elders and teaching the language to tribal youth and adults.
“This is a gift to the youth,” Noel Rude, the dictionary’s author and a former tribal linguist at the Tamastslikt Cultural Institute, said in a statement. “No matter where they find themselves, they will have access to the beautiful words of their elders. May this kindle their curiosity! And may their elders’ legacy never fade.”
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