Euchee Language Project

"What we want, what we need in our communities, what our goal is, is to keep alive our languages so our young people will have breath-to breath knowledge of their traditions, of their ceremonies, of their medicines, of the stars,” says Dr. Richard Grounds, who has chaired Cultural Survival’s program council since 2001. 

The Euchee people call themselves the “People of the sun,” or “Tso ya ha,” in their language, which scholars have classified as a language isolate, meaning it is unrelated to any other Native language in the Americas.

Based in Sapulpa, OK, Euchee Language Project (ELP) brings together its 5 remaining fluent elder speakers—all Euchee first-language speakers now in their 70s and 80s—on a daily basis to develop immersion curriculum, conduct after-school language classes for young people in the community, and to engage in master/apprentice training sessions with middle-generation speakers.  Operating as a state-recognized tribe with some support from the federally recognized Maskoke/Creek Nation, the ELP struggles to maintain a predictable annual budget with nearly half of its staff serving on only a part-time basis.  Current key funding needs include immersion curriculum development and support for master-apprentice participants to sustain a weekly time commitment and ensure progress toward fluency.