BUFFALO, N.Y. — The Native American Community Services of Erie and Niagara Counties community members are working to preserve their culture by teaching their native languages. Their goal is to expose students to all six of the Haudenosaunee languages.
The center is helping young children learn a new language through new programming with the NACSWNY.
There are 6,700 languages spoken in the world, and the United Nations states that 40% of them are in danger of disappearing. Here in WNY, of those 6 languages, Sarajane Gomlac-Green, who is a language coordinator with NACSWNY, said some don't have any native speakers left.
Gomlac-Green has recently become proficient in Mohawk and now helps teach the language. By learning this language, she gets a sense of how her ancestors thought.
"You can't go to another country and speak the language of our ancestors. It's here and we are trying to get it back," Gomlac-Green said.
She's seen trends where others are also interested in reconnecting with their roots.
"I think especially with COVID, a lot of people are like well, reassessing what's important and people are reassessing that language, preserving what we have left and rebuilding what we lost, that's something that is important," she said.
The Native American Community Services of Western New York are also planning to have a similar language programming the first week of April and throughout the summer. They are also participating in a social at City Honors School #195 on March 1st. This is a collaboration with the Buffalo Public Schools. It starts at 5:30 p.m. and all are welcome to attend.