By ICT staff,  Indian Country Today

For everyone who can read and write in  Cherokee, Google has made it possible to look up anything in the Cherokee language, which was created by Cherokee  scholar Sequoyah. In addition to the web, the Cherokee Syllabary is available on the ipod and iphone. On Google’s Official Blog, you can find virtual keyboards which allows people to type directly in their language, without additional software.
This is a great achievement for traditional speakers of the language, because they can now use the web comfortably in their native tongue. It is also a way of getting young people interested in learning the Cherokee language,
Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chad Smith commented,

“I believe that efforts like those of Google are essential to keeping our language alive… We have been working hard to get our young people interested in learning our Native tongue but we cannot be successful unless they can read and write in the medium of their era – all the digital devices that are currently so popular.”

Google has definitely made a huge contribution to preserving endangered indigenous languages. Kudos to Google! Read the article, and share your thoughts with us!
*To faithful Talking Feather member Gordon R., osiyo!

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Jacob Muselmann, The Daily Times

It was an exciting experience for the 30 students attending the NASA event which took place at Shiprock High School, located in  Shiprock, New Mexico.

The event was led by engineers from the  Glenn Research Center.  Students from first through the eighth grade spent the day doing hands-on activities involving engineering concepts. They also constructed theoretical landing modules and habitats for Mars.

This all came about thanks to Raquel Redhouse, a resident of Shiprock, and one of the engineers involved in the function for the students. According to Redhouse,

“Many of the students at the camp were referred by a Launch to Learn camp held previously, which was funded in part by a grant from President Barack Obama’s Educate to Innovate initiative to bolster interest in technical fields among underrepresented populations…”

Great article.

Tags: Engineers, Glenn Research Center, NASA, Shiprock