A Takelma board book shows words for activities such as dreaming and playing games.
Courtesy of Lindsay Campman, communications and marketing director / Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians
Roseburg schools and the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians have announced a new partnership to help preserve the tribe’s ancestral language.
Starting in the 2026-27 academic year, both Native and non-Native high school students can take the Takelma language for official language credit. The word Takelma means “those who live alongside the river,” but its usage fell into decline in the early 1900s after its last known speaker died. But the tribe says working carefully with linguists and accessing audio recordings from the Smithsonian Institution have helped revive it.
Lindsay Campman, a spokesperson with the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua, told KLCC that the tribe has deemed language as important to its citizens.
“And that continues to make our people strong,” said Campman. “It’s a link to have something in common with your ancestors who lived a very, very different life centuries ago. But being able to speak that same language that they did, that’s a powerful connection.”
Campman said the Takelma curriculum is currently being taught by one of the tribe’s citizens who’s become the “master teacher,” and holds Zoom classes.
“Now we actually have multiple levels of where people are at in their learning,” she said. “Some people are starting to have actual conversations with one another. It’s all really exciting because what it means is that more people are speaking the Takelma language than have probably been spoken in decades, maybe centuries.”
The Cow Creek Band is also partnering up with Roseburg schools on the Tribal Attendance Promising Practices program. The statewide initiative focuses on improving attendance, and — according to a joint press release from the tribe and Roseburg schools — “creating culturally responsive supports that help Native students succeed academically and socially.”
Roseburg Public Schools is one of just nine districts in Oregon chosen to participate in TAPP.
The tribe is also giving the district $500,000 toward renovating Roseburg High School’s sports complex. A new name for the facility will be announced soon.
Brian Bull is a reporter with KLCC. This story comes to you from the Northwest News Network, a collaboration between public media organizations in Oregon and Washington.
It is part of OPB’s broader effort to ensure that everyone in our region has access to quality journalism that informs, entertains and enriches their lives. To learn more, visit our journalism partnerships page.
