HULBERT, Okla.– The Muscogee (Creek) Nation is hosting the second annual Mvskoke Immersion Adult Camp at the Sequoyah Lodge in Hulbert from July 7-11. Mvskoke Language Department Project/Media Coordinator Jordan Squire (Mvskoke) spoke to Mvskoke Media about this year’s camp and what will be happening throughout a week full of immersive Mvskoke language learning.
The adult camp differs from the youth camp in its focus on language immersion. Filled with 20 participants already, each camper must be 18 years or older, an enrolled Mvskoke citizen, and have an interest in speaking the Mvskoke language. “This is the second annual adult language camp that we have hosted at Sequoyah State Park. It is similar to our student camp but with this camp, it is more immersing than the kid’s camp,” Squire said.
The five-day camp begins on Monday, with classes starting that afternoon. The campers have the option to drive home back and forth, just as long as they make it back to their classes.
In its second year, the camp has already seen a lot of interest and growth. “We are limited to only 20 participants, we would like to increase this number but for right now we cap it at 20,” Squire said. “This was the first time we opened the registration to the public and all spots were filled up within 7 minutes of the initial release of the form. We then started taking a waitlist but had to stop once it got over 50 participants. Even after the waitlist closed, the program was still receiving calls wanting to be added to the list.”
The initial adult language camp was a much smaller single-day gathering. Squire said, “We began having our Adult Etohkvlketv back in September 2023 and when it began it wasn’t a full-on stay at the camp. It was a one-day 8-5 pm meeting at the MCN Housing Building and at this time we could only take in 10 participants.”
“The students that came to this etohkvlketv all already had an interest in learning the Mvskoke Language and wanted to use it. During this trial camp, the students got to see presentations from all staff of the Mvskoke Language Program on what our program was and how it could benefit them as students in furthering their language journey.They participated in language activities, and lessons, and got to pair up with other learners to test their speaking abilities with short phrases.”
The program was able to invite back the 10 participants from the initial meeting for the first adult immersion camp at Sequoyah Lodge in 2024, but this year the program has been able to expand. “This year was the first time that we got to open up more spots and invite more learners in so it was exciting to see the interest,” Squire said.
Mvskoke Language Classes
The program aims to create a comfortable environment for campers so that everyone is supported in their ability and surrounded by other people wanting to speak and learn as well. “The goal is to create a safe spot for language learners to be comfortable with making mistakes, engaging in conversations with our first language speakers as well as other Mvskoke language learners, and build up their knowledge with the language,” Squire said.
A level of familiarity with the language is also a prerequisite. “We wanted adult students who already have a bank of knowledge and assist them in expanding what they already know into conversations.” To maintain a level of ease and support throughout the five days, adult campers will be split into three categories: beginning, intermediate and advanced.
The beginning group practices the basics, which may cover the sounds, vocabulary build up and sentence building. The intermediate group is for those who have knowledge of the language already and are going to build up their sentence skills. Exercising and practicing these skills helps build learners confidence in creating sentences, according to Squire.
The advanced group is for adults who are able to stay speaking in the Mvskoke language or want to challenge themselves. This class will stay in the Mvskoke language and only use English when covering higher level grammar concepts.
When speaking about the advanced classes Squire related, “Your Mvskoke does not need to be perfect to be at this level, you just have to be willing to stay in the language and push yourself with others who have the same goal.”
There is some flexibility built into the camp’s programing and that’s meant to encourage and support learners. Squire shared, “The students are able to participate in class and if at any time they feel like they need to be placed in a lower or higher class they have the option to change.”
Squire also shared enthusiasm for adult students. She stated, “Adults are still learners. Regardless of somebody’s age, your mind never stops learning. I am excited to have people who want to use the language come to our camps and be around other learners and be around our first-language speakers in the office.”
“It is exciting to see a huge number of people ready to learn the language. Hopefully, in the future, we will be able to provide more spots to more learners.”
