Marie Wilcox, the last fluent speaker of the Wukchumni language, creates a dictionary to keep it alive.
Like most Native Americans, the Wukchumni did not write their language until recently. Although several linguists documented the grammar of the Wukchumni language in the 20th century, Ms. Wilcox’s dictionary is the longest work of its kind. Ms. Wilcox has also recorded an oral version of the dictionary, including traditional Wukchumni stories like the “How We Got Our Hands” parable featured in the film. The pronunciation of the language, including intricate accents, will be preserved, which will assist future learners of the language.
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About the Wukchumni People
They are a Yokuts tribe of California with about 200 members, living on the Tule River Reservation. Approximately 3,000 years ago, they separated from the main Yokuts group to settle on the eastern fork of the Kaweah River. They were hunter-gatherers, and sometimes traded with the neighboring Paiute people in the Sequoia National Park region. As of 2014, Marie Wilcox (born 1933) is the last native speaker of the Wukchumni language, which was taught to her by her grandparents. When she realized that younger members of the Wukchumni were interested in learning the language, she decided to create the lexical dictionary with her great-grandson.