{"id":577,"date":"2020-10-13T20:09:43","date_gmt":"2020-10-13T20:09:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/?post_type=stories&p=577"},"modified":"2023-04-10T23:51:32","modified_gmt":"2023-04-10T23:51:32","slug":"treasured-preservationist","status":"publish","type":"stories","link":"https:\/\/www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/news\/treasured-preservationist\/","title":{"rendered":"Treasured Preservationist"},"content":{"rendered":"

Pauline Flett, Salish language preservationist and scholar, helped lay the groundwork for Native language education programs across Washington state<\/span><\/h3>\n

By Eastern Magazine<\/p>\n

I<\/span>n June 1998, Pauline Flett appeared on Garrison Keillor\u2019s A Prairie Home Companion radio show. With the host translating at her side, Flett told the traditional story of the coming of the salmon in her native dialect of Salish, a language she was working tirelessly to preserve from extinction. It was an inspiring, moving performance, one of many such inspirational moments in the life and work of Flett, a treasured teacher and elder of the Spokane Tribe, who died on April 13, 2020 in Spokane. She was 93.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
Pauline Flett<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cShe was a trailblazing linguist who taught at EWU for years and compiled the Spokane Dictionary,\u201d says Margo Hill, assistant professor of urban and regional planning at EWU. \u201cShe inspired myself and many others.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Growing up in a Salish-speaking household in the West End area of the Spokane Indian Reservation, as a youth Flett became completely fluent in language. As the years passed and others\u2019 knowledge of Salish waned, Flett became determined to ensure the language would remain accessible to new generations of speakers. She co-wrote the first Spokane-English dictionary, and for years taught the language at EWU, where her meritorious service earned her an honorary master\u2019s degree in 1992.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cPauline Flett was a beloved member of the EWU community and our whole region,\u201d said EWU President Mary Cullinan in April. \u201cHer work to preserve the Salish language was incredibly significant.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

In addition to her contributions at the university, Flett also helped lay the groundwork for Native language education programs across Washington state. LaRae Wiley, executive director of the Salish School of Spokane, remembers Flett as her first Salish teacher. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI did an independent study with Pauline through EWU,\u201d Wiley says. \u201cI had never heard a word of Salish in my life and I know I sounded horrible. But she always encouraged me and even translated a few of my original songs into Salish.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Pauline Flett, Salish language preservationist and scholar, helped lay the groundwork for Native language education programs across Washington state By Eastern Magazine In June 1998, Pauline Flett appeared on Garrison Keillor\u2019s A Prairie Home Companion radio show. With the host translating at her side, Flett told the traditional story of the coming of the salmon…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":484,"featured_media":537,"menu_order":0,"template":"","class_list":["post-577","stories","type-stories","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","stories_categories-campus","stories_categories-in-memoriam","stories_categories-research","stories_tags-spring-summer-2020"],"acf":{"featured_video":"","subheading":"","display_byline":false,"display_date_published":false,"Links":false,"Resources":false,"featured_image_format":"cover","page_hide_sidebar":false,"page_enable_page_nav":false},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/stories\/577","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/stories"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/stories"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/484"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/stories\/577\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1786,"href":"https:\/\/www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/stories\/577\/revisions\/1786"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/537"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=577"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}