Press Releases

Collins College Film and Video Instructor Works with Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation to Preserve Tribe's Language

Tempe, AZ (August 19, 2008) – Victor Barrow, film and video instructor at Collins College, videotaped portions of an eight-week Yavapai conversational class as part of a grant received by the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation titled "The Preservation of Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation Language." The grant was awarded by the Arizona State Library Archives and Public Records.

Like many Indian nations, leaders of the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation are concerned about preserving their native language. This grant provides funding for the tribe to document and offer self-instruction in conversational Yavapai to tribal members and the public. The final instructional piece titled Speak Yavapai Right Now will include video, audio and print. Speak Yavapai Right Now will be available at the Yavapai Nation's library located on the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation.

The Preservation of Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation Language grant includes:

• Eight-week conversational Yavapai class emphasizing the history of the Yavapai language and the language's current use.
• Video tape of various sessions and audio tape word pronunciation.
• Published piece, video and audio tape titled Speak Yavapai Right Now containing word recognition, family names, plants and food, geographical names of streets on the reservation, word pronunciation, and meanings.
• Assistance from the Elders of Fort McDowell and members of the Fort McDowell Cultural Committee.

The project is a combined effort of Karen Ray, Cultural Coordinator-Yavapai Specialist; Luther Sweet, retired teacher; Jackie McCalvin, Ft. McDowell Tribal Librarian; Elders of Fort McDowell; and members of the tribe's Cultural Committee.

About the Yavapai Language:
Yavapai tribes do not have a specific writing system. Because of this, individuals learn from one another other, and as a result, emphasize words according to how they were taught. The Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation in Maricopa County shares similar sounds and words with sixteen other tribes of the Yuman dialect. Pai people (that includes Fort McDowell) are the three-Yavapai tribes along with the Havasupai, Hualapai and Pai-pai tribes that share the most common language meaning and are able to understand one another.

The Yavapai tribes are broken down into four tribal clans: Yavaþé, Wiihþukaþaya, Dolgahv'þaya, and Kweyvgahþaya; another Yavapai clan is the Mađ`gŕaŕth'þaya, which means the "desert people." This group is believed to have immersed with the Mohave and other Yuman tribes and no longer exists.

• Kweyvgahþaya means "southern people," refers to the Fort McDowell area, the Yavapai here live towards the end of the Verde River.
• Yavaþé means "first born people" (others might say mouthy people) and refers to the Yavapai in the Prescott area.
• Wiihþukaþaya means "people at the base of the mountain" and refers to the Yavapai around the Sedona area and present day, Clarkdale and Camp Verde areas.
• Dolgahv'þaya could mean "those that are in the middle." Some Yavapai people lived in various areas like Peeples Valley (now know as Chino Valley), Skull Creek, etc.; areas within a fifty mile radius of Prescott.

About Collins College
Collins College, a school of design and technology, provides students with a career-focused education. Approximately 1,500 students from across the nation attend Collins College. Collins offers Bachelor of Arts' degrees in Game Design, Visual Arts with a major in Game Art, Graphic Design, Interior Design, Film & Video Production, and a Bachelor of Science in Information Technology. Associate degrees are offered in Information Technology, Digital Video Production, and Graphic Design. Collins is part of the Career Education Corporation network of schools (NASDAQ: CECO). For more information, visit www.collinscollege.edu.

About Fort McDowell
The Fort McDowell Yavapai, the "Abaja - the people" are one of three Yavapai tribes in Arizona. The nation, which has lived and prospered in Central Arizona for thousands of years, was granted a 24,000-acre reservation 35 miles northeast of Phoenix in 1903. Over the ensuing years, Fort McDowell has opened and/or expanded tribal enterprises such as Fort McDowell Yavapai Materials, a multi-million dollar supplier of the finest sand and gravel products to the Valley; Fort McDowell Adventures, the nation's outdoor Western entertainment venue in the area's most pristine location; Fort McDowell Farms, which produces alfalfa, citrus and pecans for sale; the Radisson Poco Diablo Resort in Sedona, Ariz.; Ba'ja Gas and Convenience Store; Eagle View (Aseh Gweh Oou-o) RV Resort; WeKoPa Golf Club, one of Arizona's finest public championship courses; and of course, Fort McDowell Casino, the state's first and best gaming facility. The nation's newest enterprise, the Radisson Fort McDowell Resort and Convention Center, opened in December 2005.