Revitalizing Native languages of the Colville Reservation
through immersion schools
ʔaluspuʔús
Language immersion schools have developed as an alternative to the public school system in the knowledge that the students will have a far richer education when learning in their Native language and through a culturally relevant curriculum.
We started ʔaluspuʔús in 2004 and opened our first school, skʷant sənm̓aʔm̓áyaʔtən (Waterfall School) near Omak, Washington, in 2010. With one student in preschool at the beginning of that year, we now have 17 students in preschool through 2nd grade. We have a waiting list, and we continue to grow.
In this same tradition, we are working to open our second school, to be located in Nespelem, and to provide an opportunity for our students to choose which track of language immersion to take, whether it be nsəlxcin, nimipu, or nxaʔamcín.
Our Mission
Our Purpose
A Native language has all the wisdom of the land upon which it is spoken.
It knows the names of the plants, mountains, lakes, streams and most importantly- it knows its people from the beginning of time.
It is the voice of our ancestors, the voice of our souls.
It is the water to our roots.
OUR STORY
To revitalize the Native languages of the Colville Reservation by operating language immersion schools.
ʔaluspuʔús (Hearts Gathered) will preserve and promote the use of the Native languages on the Colville Reservation by creating and operating Native language immersion schools at which the Native languages will be used as the languages of instruction to produce fluent Native language speakers who are highly skilled learners and knowledgeable in both the Native languages and world academia.
Our Native languages (nqlqilxʷcntət) have not been spoken in our homes as first languages for well more than a generation. Only a few fluent Native speakers remain on the Colville Reservation. Residents here have grown accustomed to speaking and knowing in a foreign tongue – English. To stop this downward spiral of language loss and invigorate the Native languages, a group of community members formed an organization called ʔaluspuʔús (Hearts Gathered). We knew, because our languages were in a vulnerable condition, that we needed to use the most efficient and effective means of generating new speakers- the language immersion schools model. Learn more about immersions schools...
ʔaluspuʔús works to create fluent Native speakers by teaching them academic subjects while speaking in the Native languages, rather than in English. They are immersed in the ancestral tongue – and are giving a refreshing life-breath to the languages of the Colville Reservation.
Hearts Gathered is a tax-exempt private, nonprofit corporation organized under the laws of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation. We are governed by a board of directors.