SAY HELLO - WORDS TO LIVE BY

Linguist Lynette St. Clair uses modern technology to preserve the language of her ancestors.

- ASHLEY ABRAMSON

Around 40 years ago, Lynette St. Clair saw a documentary about a woman in Washington state who was the last native language speaker left in her tribe. "When they asked her how to say fish, a word that is so prominent in the Pacific Northwest, she couldn't remember," Lynette recalls. “I didn't want to be that person, so I made a promise to myself and to my grandparents that I'd never forget my own language."

A lifelong resident of the Wind River Indian Reservation in Wyoming, linguist Lynette grew up hearing and speaking Shoshone. Her parents were fluent speakers, and she frequently spent time around her extended family, all of whom spoke the language together. Now she's dedicated to preserving the Shoshone language for future generations, partly through a new app she has developed for use in schools.

GIVING BACK

Language is more than just a means of communication. Lynette describes it, first and foremost, as a way to connect spiritually with a person's ancestors and land. "Our language is descriptive," she says, "and it's our responsibility to know and understand the sacred places and spaces our grandparents named.”

She also believes in sharing her culture with those who ask about it. "I was always told that when people ask you for help, you answer that call," Lynette says. With that idea in mind, she accepted a job at Fort Washakie Schools, the same school system that she attended, to help carry Shoshone culture to the next generation.