The project’s goal is to increase language learning capacity among Powhatan Algonquian communities through an intertribal effort to create multifunctional Powhatan Algonquian teaching and learning resources.

In March 2021, Congress appropriated $20 million to the Administration for Native Americans (ANA) to provide competitive language grants to assist Tribes and Native organizations as they sought to ensure the survival and continuing vitality of Native American languages. September2021: Chickahominy Indian Tribe was the recipient of one of these 2021 American Rescue Plan Act Native Language Preservation and Maintenance supplemental grants in September 2021 to develop a strategic plan to provide direction for a Language Program Language Program Language Program Design ready for future implementation and establishing of an intertribal language roundtable. July 2022: ANA ARP Language grant was followed by a grant award from the Virginia Museum of History s Culture’s Commonwealth History Fund, supported by Dominion Energy. This aided in supporting the development of the Powhatan Algonquian Intertribal Roundtable (PAIR) and in the development and completion of a Language Revitalization Program Plan ready for submission to the Administration for Native Americans (ANA) Language Preservation and Maintenance Grant program. August 2023: The Chickahominy Indian Tribe was awarded the Administration for Native Americans (ANA) Language Preservation and Maintenance Grant program to fund three years of curriculum development and intertribal language program initiation activities. July 2023-June2026

Our long-term vision is to create a Powhatan Algonquian community that can facilitate language reclamation, learning, and use among participating Viginia Algonquian tribes. An exampleof this effort would be the creation of a language consortium among the Powhatan Algonquian speaking tribes of Virginia to sustain the work designed by the Powhatan Algonquian Intertribal Roundtable (PAIR).

The eight Powhatan Algonquian speaking tribes: o Chickahominy Indian Tribe o Chickahominy Indian Tribe – Eastern Division o Mattaponi Indian Tribe o NansemondIndian Nation o Pamunkey Indian Tribe o Patawomeck Indian Tribe o Rappahannock Indian Tribe o Upper Mattaponi Indian Tribe

PAIR acts as an advisorycommittee for strategic planning, community outreach, prioritization of language program areas, and exploration of a future language consortium or other form of durable languageprogram governance.

The role of the language ambassador is to support the widespread use of language learning materials, ascertain the best ways to individualize language learning for their own communities, and drive engagement within their respective tribes.

Mr. Ian Custalow(Mattaponi): Powhatan Algonquian Advisor who has developed language learning materials based on 20+ years of study and experience as a linguist in the U.S. Army Mr. Jesse Bowman Bruchac (Nulhegan Band of the Coosuk Abenaki Nation, Middlebury College): Abenaki language teacher, Algonquian language coach and consultant for the PBS series Jamestown Dr. Craig Kopris: Linguist supporting community-led language revitalization projects and language reconstruction of Powhatan Algonquian grammar for the PBS Series Jamestown Dr. Conor Quinn (University of Southern Maine): Linguist specializing in the Algonquian language family and support for community-driven language reclamation and teaching methods. Dr. Molly Mitchell (Virginia Institute of Marine Science): Ecologist and mapping specialist, helping PAIR to develop public-facing maps highlighting Powhatan Algonquian language Kenah Consulting: a Small, Women, and Minority-Owned-certified anthropological consulting firm (Dr. Stephanie Hasselbacher, Mrs. Lisa Bergstrom)

The 8 member tribes of PAIR will ultimately be responsible for disseminating language learning materials in the ways that work for their communities. Each tribe will have access to the same materials but may opt to use them in different ways. PAIR plans to lead workshops to support languageleaders from across the tribes.

PAIR plans to lead workshops to support language leaders from across the tribes. These workshops will build language leading skills and collaboratively develop language learning ideas (for classes, individuals, and small informal groups of friends and family), but not dictate how individual tribal efforts will run.

Each tribe has access to the same materials but may opt to use them in different ways. Some tribes may choose to lead classes; others may select other paths. PAIR plans to lead workshops to support language leaders from across the tribes, no matter what path their tribe is on.

As learners of a sleeping language, we will need to be gracious and even creative regarding “correct pronunciation.” Have you listened to other more advanced learners, either in person or via recording? Have you recorded yourself as a sound memo and asked a more advanced learner? Do other learners understand your intention? These are the most reliable ways of striving for “correctness,” because the written word can help you with consonants and vowels, but rhythm, melody, stress, and intonation are core elements of pronunciation that we can only learn through listening and speaking to each other to reach a shared understanding.

Language is different everywhere. Georgia English is not like London English, for example, and English in 2024 is so far from English in 1607. Therefore, “100% accurate” is not a phrase that can be used with any language. That being said, the Algonquian language family is the largest language family in North America. Algonquian languages are differentiated from each other by a very specific pattern of sound changes, so listening to other Algonquian languages makes Powhatan Algonquian very predictable. We have many living sister languages to learn from. Eastern Algonquian languages are some of the closest related languages in the world. When we take words we know in Powhatan along with the same words in related languages, we can find patterns that open more doors. The predictability of words in related languages allows for very high confidence with Powhatan Algonquian’s reconstructed words. When new words are reconstructed, this responsibility is not taken lightly. A team of linguistic experts collaborates with members of the Virginia Algonquian community to rebuild Powhatan Algonquianin a way that meets current needs while remaining true to what we know from the historical record of our ancestors.

Yes, it is possible to become a fluent speaker of the language. The length of time it will take to learn varies by factors such as the individual and by number and types of opportunities to practice. Though there is much language reconstruction still to accomplish, previous language reclamations among the Myaamia and Wampanoak tribes give us hope.

Learning any language feels daunting, but in many ways, Powhatan is easier than English. Its grammatical patterns are simpler and more flexible, and the sounds are not difficult for people raised speakingEnglish. Powhatan Algonquian follows a predictable pattern for putting together big words that contain a lot of meaning. As learning the language unfolds, we will see that small words unlock big words. For example,some find the word Tsenacommacah daunting, however, it is broken down to: Tsena: low lying, flat Commacah: settlement, or settled place And now you can build your own PA words by adding -commacah to other descriptions of settlements and places!

As of the recent surveys conducted between 2022-23 among the 8 tribes represented by PAIR, about 50 individuals are emerging Algonquian speakers. The current number of emerging speakersincludes those individuals in current formal and informal learning environments, including the classes offered by the Patawomeck Tribe, and tribal leaders who regularly utilize the language in ceremonial contexts.

Powhatan Algonquian was the prominent spoken language in Tsenacommacah, which extended across 10,000 square miles. This territory encompassed the coastal plain of what would becomeknown as Virginia. It extended from the banks of the James River (originally called the Powhatan) north to the Potomac River and from the Atlantic Ocean to west of the fall line that marked the geographic shift to the rolling hills of the piedmont region. Many tribes living in Tsenacommacah became allies of the paramount chieftaincy led by Wahunsenacawh, who brought more than 30 Indian communities under his leadership prior to encountering the English in Eastern Virginia. Tribes in the region were engaged with the chieftaincy to varying degrees; certain tribes were central to Wahunsenacawh’s government, whereas others were either integrated by force or resisted alliance. Historical documents would indicate that the language, or one extremely similar to it, was used in what is now called North Carolina, as well.

We may never know all the historical details, but the documents written by the English in the 17th century and later linguists show that there were different words, dialects, and accents used by different Virginia tribes as well as a traders’ "pidgin" language used around Tsenacommacah. Based on the historical record, we believe that the speech of the different Algonquian tribes in Virginia and North Carolina would have been “mutually intelligible”—or understood going both ways—though noticeably different.

The languages differ through the regions by certain words, dialects, and accents. They are not all mutually intelligible, but the grammatical patterns across the language family are strikingly consistent.

Powhatan Algonquian and English come from very different language families, so they use different sounds and patterns to express meaning. For example, Powhatan Algonquian uses fewer sounds, but can change meaning by holding vowel sounds fora longer time, as in music. Also, word order is not critical in Powhatan Algonquian (unlike English). Instead, Powhatan Algonquian words are very descriptive and flexible and use word-internal patterns to convey what English speakers can only do by putting words in a restrictive order. One Powhatan Algonquian word often communicates an idea that would take four or five words in English, and direct one-to-one translation is rarely possible.

There are a few sentences but mostly it’s single words, which is one reason reconstruction is taking a bit. a. Oral history within each tribe b. Manuscripts of William Strachey (1572 – 1621) c. Writings of: · John Smith (1580 – 1631) · John White (c.1587+) · Thomas Hariot (1588) · Lord’s Prayer published in Livonia (Bergmann, 1789) Author unknown · Rev. Mr. Dalrymple (1844) · Edward E. Hale (1860) · James Geary (1953) Analysis of words from Strachey/comparison to Algonquian languages d. Brief Notes on English Orthography by Mr. Barbour (1971-1972) e. Historical Reconstruction of Strachey’s scripts by Frank Siebert (1975) f. Blair Rudes, linguist who facilitated language reconstruction for film and television in the 21st century (2005)

We are doing our best to faithfully reconstruct Powhatan Algonquian to the extent possible, but there are some things we can never know for sure about how our ancestors spoke. This process requires some intelligent guesswork and indeed creativity from within the community, when our linguistic partners do not have enough historical or comparative information from other Algonquian languages to be certain. Like all living languages, Powhatan Algonquian will grow (new words will develop for modern things) and change (pronunciations and patterns) over time. For example, originally the “k” was pronounced in the word “knife”, but now English speakers no longer need the “k”.

This project will produce a Minimal Course (MinCourse) curriculum of 24 modules aimed at teaching conversational Powhatan Algonquian by Summer 2026. Each module consists of a basic phrase or pair of phrasesuseful for everyday conversation, and additional vocabulary and learning activitiesto make learning and using the content easy. We intend to release updates and new modules as they are completed. Audio recordings and spelling variations of each term will be compiled into a Powhatan Algonquian Beginning Dictionary available by June 30th, 2026. Through partnering with the Virginia institute of Marine Science, PAIR plans to build on an existing interactive map by adding/updating Algonquian place names and accompanying translations and plans to add additional information about indigenous knowledge of history, geography, and natural resources. The map will be updated by June 30th, 2025.

When a language is “dead” that just means it has nobody that speaks it as a first or primary language. Wampanoag language was “dead” until a tribal linguist raised her daughter to speak Wampanoag words before English, successfully reclassifying the language as “endangered.” Hebrew was a “dead” language for centuries until the spoken form was reconstructed and taught as a first language. Luckily, our language is everywhere around us in the form of place names, hiding in plain sight. So, we prefer to think of it as sleeping, and we are in the process of waking it up.

Powhatan was one of the earliest Algonquian languages to be impacted by European settlement. While all North American indigenous communities have faced economic, educational, and political pressures to move toward English, Virginia Indians have felt this strain since the very first day of the colonial period. Also, there was a Powhatan Pidgin language that merged vocabulary and grammar to facilitate trade between the English and Powhatan people. While this pidgin made for easier communication between speakers of different languages, it also made it easier to not speak Powhatan.

By reclaiming and revitalizing the Powhatan Algonquian language, Virginia’s Algonquian communities will bolster their longstanding connection to the land, strengthen tribal relationships through their shared Native language, and enable a greater understanding and appreciation for all the history of Algonquians and Virginia. As Western Abenaki teacher (and friend of the project) Jesse Bruchac says, “The language remembers.”

There is a strong desire to write words, but there are challenges with different spellings. We are trying many different ways of spelling using English letters, but not all Powhatan Algonquian sounds are the same as English. Finding a system that works for the most people is something that we are working on. This includes trying different alphabets to see which works the best for both the language and its learners. Another option under consideration is syllabic writing. Many Algonquian (and other indigenous) languages, especially in Canada, use Aboriginal Syllabics which are derived from Cree Syllabics. Since these were developed for Cree (a related Algonquian language), it fits our language. Also, in the spirit of Native unity, a unified aboriginal syllabic system leans on our connectedness to our sister tribes. It is also uniquely Native in its foundation being the Sacred Four Winds, not European-based standards. However, it can be difficult to type with a regular keyboard and can be met with technical challenges. For example, kenah= ᑫᓇ”

In early days of recording Powhatan words, there was no International Phonetic Alphabet or American Phonetic Notation, so words were recorded using whatever letters the recorder felt worked best. Because of the differences in education, regional accents, and personal priorities of recorders, spellings using English letters vary greatly. Furthermore, English spelling was (and remains) notoriously unreliable. One person writing an “a” could intend for us to say a wide variety of sounds, and this results in a lot of variation when we try to rely on English speakers to record languages they do not know (like John Smith attempting to write Powhatan Algonquian). Also, as we look at the deeper meanings of words and their various parts, we do find translation issues with early writings. In retrospect, it is easy to see how they were made considering the people communicating with each other could not speak to each other yet. For example,if someone points at their eyes to ask how to say “see,” the other person could easily think they are asking how to say “eyeball,”“brown” (for eye color), or “face” in general. And, of course,there may not be a one-to-one mappingfor words acrosslanguages, which easily leads to mistakesin the historical record which we are now working to identify and fix.

Be willing to learn...whenever you can, wherever you can! Be willing to use the language...whenever you can, wherever you can! The first time you speak a word, you become a speaker-learner! If you would like to volunteer your time or expertise to help this effort succeed, please reach out to your tribe’s PAIR member (see below). There are many ways to help that do not rely on you instantly becoming a Powhatan Algonquian speaker. You do not need to know everything to share whatyou know.

PAIR Members are as follows: