our people are speaking again

Chochenyo, the language of the Muwekma Ohlone people, has been silent since the 1930s, but a handful of tribal members working with mentors from the University of California, Berkeley's linguistics department are bringing it back to life.

Today, Chochenyo is being heard once again in conversation and song, and can be seen in written communications and a guidebook being prepared to help teach others.

Tribal chair Rosemary Cambra and Monica Arellano, co-chair of the Muwekma Ohlone Language Committee, will share the Muwekma Ohlone success story at the "Breath of Life: Silent No More" conference at UC Berkeley as it opens this Saturday, June 5. The five-day program is for California Indians determined to revitalize their dormant and endangered languages.