Language Revitalization
Essay Instructions
The documentary film Language Healers: Native Americans Revitalizing Native American Languages recounts the amazing story of the language revitalization in Native American communities across the US and shows how such revitalizations play a crucial role in preserving tribal identity for future generations. For this essay, I would like you to consider the following questions: Why is language revitalization important for tribal communities in the United States? What are some of the challenges that tribal communities face in their efforts to revitalize their indigenous languages, and how might these challenges be addressed?
To answer this set of questions, you should draw on the documentary and the assigned readings as evidence to support your argument. Although these should be your primary sources, you are also encouraged to do some additional research online. Specifically, it will be helpful to look into specific revitalization efforts undertaken by different tribes as case studies to support your argument (e.g. the Ojibwe, Cherokee, and Navajo tribes are good examples to explore). Your response must be 4-5 double-spaced pages in length, include at least five supp
orting sources, and follow the structural guidelines detailed below. You may not use first person.
Structure:
Your essay should include an introduction https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/introductions/ that introduces the topic and ends with a clearly worded, 1-2 sentence thesis statement https://cws.illinois.edu/workshop/writers/tips/thesis/ . Each supporting paragraph (there should be at least 3) should begin with a strong topic sentence and should incorporate evidence, including direct quotations from the short stories as needed to support your argument. Direct quotations should be incorporated using the quotation sandwich method https://www.lakeforest.edu/live/files/1399-the-quote-sandwichpdf and proper MLA in-text citations. The essay should also contain a strong conclusion. The final page of the document should consist of a Works Cited (Links to an external site.) page. Tips for formatting electronic sources can be found here (Links to an external site.).
Formatting Tips:
Your document should be 4-5 pages in length, typed and double-spaced, in Times New Roman font, size 12. Your paper should have 1-inch margins and should include a properly formatted heading and a title.