Round Valley student awarded $10,000 for Wailaki language project (w/videos)

MENDOCINO Co., 4/11/17 — Growing up in Round Valley, Shayleena Britton heard a little bit about the Wailaki language from her grandmother’s sister, who wasn’t taught it as a child, but can still remember a few Wailaki words that were spoken to her as a child. When the first Wailaki classes began at Round Valley High School three years ago, Britton was excited to learn the language previously spoken by her family and tribe. Now a 17 year old senior and Wailaki Two student, Britton is teaching her relatives what she learns in class as part of a local effort to revive the language.

Now, thanks to a $10,000 American Indian Dreamstarter Student Award, Britton will go beyond sharing the language with classmates and relatives, to sharing this knowledge with a broader community, both in Round Valley and around the world. Britton recently received the grant, a national award given to only 10 students annually, to develop an online educational resource and community events to help bring the Wailaki language back to her community. “My grandmother is able to learn her language, and I wanted to be able to teach people in the community,” she said of the project.