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A BARRICK GOLD REPORT ON RESPONSIBLE MINING | BEYOND BORDERSEACH YEAR BARRICK SPONSORS 20 SHOSHONE TEACHERS TO TRAVEL TO THEUNIVERSITY OF UTAH FOR A TEACHER TRAINING WORKSHOP.“This is my life’s work,” the 22-year old University of Oregonstudent said. “I believe that we have a really high chance ofbringing this language back.”The once-widespread language is now in danger of completelydying out. Experts put the number of fluent Shoshone speakersat less than 4,000 across the United States – perhaps evenless. The vast majority of these speakers are elders and mostonly know the language in its original oral form. Passing thelanguage along to subsequent generations has proved to be achallenge.The preservation of the Shoshone language and the culturalsignificance it holds for the Shoshone people is the focus of aBarrick-sponsored program at the University of Utah.Since 2007, Barrick has provided annual funding for theShoshone Language Project at the University’s Center forAmerican Indian Languages. The aim of the project is to createlearning and teaching tools for the disappearing language. Itbuilds upon the work of Wick R. Miller, an anthropologicallinguist who collected recordings of more than 500 narrativesand songs by fluent Shoshone speakers during the late 1960s andearly 1970s.“The original funding from Barrick allowed us to completethe transcription, translation and a first proofreading of thiscollection,” said Marianna Di Paolo, associate professor in thedepartment of linguistics and administrator of the program.“Completing this work was a very important milestone in thepreservation of the traditional oral culture of the Shoshonepeople.”Through Barrick’s continued support, the project has grownto include a genealogy database containing family relationshipinformation for the speakers interviewed by Miller and anongoing electronic dictionary which already includes more than30,000 words translated from Shoshone to English.“The basic work on preserving and disseminating theWick R. Miller Collection materials has spun off into variousactivities, including claymation films, children’s storybooks,teacher training workshops, and many others,” Di Paolo said.Bill Upton, Barrick’s director of Environment for BarrickNorth America, has been administrating the program on the16March 2011
BEYOND BORDERS | A BARRICK GOLD REPORT ON RESPONSIBLE MININGIN 2009, 10 STUDENTS PARTICIPATED IN THE SHOSHONE YOUTH LANGUAGEAND APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM AT THE UNIVERSITY OF UTAH. BESIDESGETTING A CHANCE TO EXPERIENCE POST-SECONDARY EDUCATION, THESESTUDENTS WORKED ON PROJECTS DESIGNED TO REVIVE THE DECLININGSHOSHONE LANGUAGE FOR THEIR COMMUNITIES.ABOVE: STEPHANIE TABIBIANAND OTHER YOUNG SHOSHONESPEAKERS ARE DEDICATED TOPRESERVING THEIR LANGUAGEWITH SUPPORT FROM BARRICK,WHICH HAS SPONSORED ASHOSHONE LANGUAGE PROGRAMAT THE UNIVERSITY OF UTAHSINCE 2007. LEFT: HIGH SCHOOLSTUDENTS IN THE SHOSHONELANGUAGE AND CULTURE PROGRAMPRODUCE TRADITIONAL ART.BRIAN MASON, ENVIRONMENTALSUPERINTENDENT AT RUBY HILL, HASASSISTED MEMBERS OF HIS COMMUNITY(DUCK VALLEY) IN PARTICIPATING IN THELANGUAGE PROGRAM.company’s behalf since the beginning. “We have had nothingbut positive feedback from communities about this program,” hesaid. “It has been very successful.”While the program receives support from the University andgovernment grants, Barrick has been the sole corporate sponsorof the initiative, donating more than $700,000 to date.One of the most exciting aspects of the program is theShoshone Youth Language and Apprenticeship Program, heldat the university each summer. High school students fromvarious Shoshone tribes travel to Salt Lake City for a six-weekpaid internship. They live in dormitories, study the Shoshonelanguage and work on preservation projects.Two years ago, Tabibian was one of the participants. Theprogram helped her along her path towards language studiesat the University of Oregon and fostered a sense of hope thatShoshone can be revived. She is returning this summer to workas a research assistant.“When I first started learning Shoshone, my grandpa wasskeptical that the language could be learned in a few hours aday,” she said. “But he has been impressed.” Tabibian says hergrandfather – a fluent Shoshone speaker – is now teaching himselfhow to read and write in the language using the tools createdby the program. “The elders find the idea of language revivalvery exciting,” she said.To help along those elders who want to pass their languageskills on to younger generations, Di Paolo and her team at theuniversity have created teaching curriculums and hold annualteacher workshops. The next one is planned for April, 2011.Barrick will sponsor travel and accommodation costs for 20Shoshone teachers to attend the workshop. Di Paolo says thatgetting young people to speak the language again is a big task,but important to the identity of the community. “I can see thatthe Shoshone people want to keep their language alive and Iwant to help them,” she said.For Tabibian, knowing the language of her ancestors speaksto the core of her identity as a member of her tribe. “It providesyou with an understanding as to why songs are sung and whatmeaning each song has,” she said. “It is part of what makes youwho you are.”March 201117
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