On Friday, September 2nd the Billings Public Library Foundation announced a generous donation of eighteen children’s books written in the Crow language which was made possible through the Crow Language Consortium and The Language Conservancy. These books will be added to the library’s existing indigenous language collection and will be available for check-out in the children’s section.
Leslie Modrow, the Director of the Billings Public Library Foundation said “We are thrilled to be able to add more indigenous language materials to our collection. It can be difficult to find resources written in indigenous languages, so this is a wonderful addition.”
Michael Joseph of the Crow Language Consortium said, “We’re excited that patrons in Billings and surrounding areas will be able to borrow more materials in diverse and indigenous languages from their public library. Access to language learning materials like these picture books and textbooks is essential to reawakening these dormant languages.”
This partnership was made possible through the Crow Language Consortium, which is a collective of Crow schools, colleges, and educators that are working toward preserving Apsáalooke (the Crow language) to ensure it can pass on to future generations. The Consortium works to support Crow learners and teachers by developing language materials such as textbooks, dictionaries, flashcards, posters and more; by providing access to apps and multimedia; and by organizing intensive teacher training and workshops. Today, they are working with many Crow speakers to certify them as teachers in best-practice teaching methodologies. Most recently, the Consortium announced a grant to author the most extensive Crow Dictionary ever published. The Consortium is a partner of The Language Conservancy, which was founded in 2005 by a concerned group of indigenous educators and activists in response to the serious decline of indigenous language speakers in the United States. The Conservancy provides funding and technical assistance to thirty-one different indigenous language communities.
