OKMULKE, Oklv. – The Mvskoke Language Program has launched its new website, www.mvskokeopunvkv.com. The website holds many language resources including links to live classes, previously-recorded classes, language archives, events, and more. Mvskoke citizens can subscribe using their email. Tribal roll numbers and date of birth must be provided for verification purposes.
MCN Language Department Project and Media Coordinator Jordan Squire helped create the website as a part of the Living Language Grant that had been awarded to the department.
The home page has a word of the month, a list of events, and subscriber form for citizens interested in subscribing to the website. Under the resources tab on the home page, there are ten selections that include different digital materials, packets, hymns, and a dictionary. The learn tab has a selection of five lessons taught in the Mvskoke language courses starting with letters and sounds to lessons on greetings and phrases. A selection on the events tab will direct the viewer straight to a page with upcoming events that include a monthly calendar of scheduled classes and a list of flyers for more information.
Squire’s focus on the project was to put all available resources together into a digital form and make them accessible to website users. She claims that all language resources from the department’s archives were restored, updated then uploaded into PDF forms for viewers to download and print.
Mvhvya Becky Barnett’s classes can be accessed on the website via livestream through Zoom.
According to Squire, each class is free and no registration is required. Participants can drop in and out depending on availability. If they cannot make the live class, she claims they can find the missed session on the department’s Youtube page, which can be accessed through the website and Facebook.
The language department can be found on several platforms including Facebook by searching Mvskoke Language, on Instagram at MvskokeOpunvkv, on TikTok at Mvskoke Opunvkv, and on YouTube at Mvskoke Opunvkv.
Applications for the 2024 Language Immersion Camp can also be found on the website under the events tab. This year’s camp will be June 10 through June 14 in Hulbert, Okla. It will be packed with many Mvskoke Language lessons, and will feature the theme of “Growing our Language.” Interested students must be enrolled Mvskoke citizens entering grades 7 through 12. Applicants will need to submit a 200-word typed essay about the “Importance of Preserving the Mvskoke Language.” Deadline for applications is May 10.
Submissions can be emailed to mlowe@muscogeenation.com or brought into the office at their new location, 1008 E Eufaula in Okmulgee. For more information contact Squire at 918-732-7725.