Onkwawenna Kentyohkwa

Wa’tkwanonhwerá:ton! Greetings!

Onkwawenna Kentyohkwa (Our Language Society) is a community-based organization that teaches Kanyen’keha (the “Mohawk” language) to adults on the Six Nations Grand River Territory near Brantford, Ontario.

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Mohawk Adult Immersion – Admissions Deadline

Applicants wanting to attend our First-Year Adult Immersion Program must pass the admissions test by 4 p.m., Wednesday, May 8th, 2024. Test copies and more information can be found under our program’s admissions tab here: https://onkwawenna.info/programs/admissions/

Tests can be scheduled by email at: onkwawenna@gmail.com

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Goal

One hundred years ago our people grew up speaking Kanyen’keha as their first language.  That’s not happening anymore.

We teach the language using “root-words” (morphemes) – bits of words – that are not “whole words” of traditional teaching methods. Students quickly become enabled to think in the language and say what they want to say so that they can say and understand words and phrases they’ve never heard before. We began teaching a full-time adult immersion program in 1999 with the goal of creating “fluent” speakers of Kanyen’kéha (the “Mohawk” language).

At that time, other programs taught the language using “whole words”

(For more, see History, Root-Word Method.

Programs

We now teach a First-Year Program and a Second-Year Program. We also teach an Online Program for students who can not attend a full-time immersion program. And we operate Kawenón:nis, a web-based computerized verb generator. (For more, see 1st Year Program, 2nd Year Program, Online Program, Kawennón:nis)

Impact

Onkwawenna Kentyohkwa’s success in creating highly-proficient speakers has had a major impact at Grand River, not just in local and area schools but across the community. OK’s methods have been replicated by language activists in four sister languages across Iroquoia, and Onkwawenna Kentyohkwa has become a recognized leader in language revitalization efforts across Turtle Island. (For more, see Successes.)

Donate

Although we have received a few government grants for short-term projects in years past, we do not receive any government funding at present. All of our programs are community-funded for basic operations only. We are short-staffed and have to scramble for funding every year. We are in need of short-term and long-term financial help. (To donate, click here.)