Jessie Little Doe Baird facts for kids

Jessie Little Doe Baird is a special linguist who has worked hard to bring back the Wampanoag (Wôpanâak) language. This language had almost disappeared! She was born on November 18, 1963. Jessie also helped start the Wôpanâak Language Reclamation Project. She lives in Mashpee, Massachusetts.

Bringing Back a Language

Jessie Little Doe Baird is famous for her amazing work in bringing the Wampanoag language back to life. This language is spoken by the Wampanoag people, a Native American tribe. For many years, no one had spoken Wampanoag, and it was almost forgotten.

A Special Dream

Around 1992 or 1993, Jessie had many dreams. She felt these dreams were messages from her ancestors. In her dreams, her ancestors spoke in their old language, which she did not understand at first.

Her Wampanoag community had a special prophecy. It said that a woman from their tribe would leave home to bring their language back. It also said that the children of those who had helped lose the language would help heal it. Around the same time, Jessie started teaching the Wôpanâak language in places like Mashpee and Aquinnah.

Learning and Teaching

Jessie Little Doe Baird went to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to study. She earned a master's degree there. At MIT, she worked with a famous linguist named Dr. Kenneth L. Hale.

Building a Language Database

Together, Jessie and Dr. Hale created a special database for the Wôpanâak language. They used old written records, letters from the government, and religious books. A very important book they used was a Bible printed in 1663 by a minister named John Eliot. This Bible was kept in the MIT archives.

Using these old texts, Jessie and Dr. Hale started to create a Wôpanâak dictionary in 1996. This dictionary grew to have more than 10,000 words!

Helping Her Community

Jessie Little Doe Baird founded the Wôpanâak Language Reclamation Project. The main goal of this project is to bring the Wampanoag language back into everyday use.

Language Immersion School

Thanks to the project, the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe was able to create a special language immersion school. In this school, children learn and speak the Wampanoag language all day. This helps them become fluent speakers.

A Documentary Film

Jessie's work on bringing the Wôpanâak language back is featured in a PBS documentary. The film is called We Still Live Here: Âs Nutayuneân. It was directed by Anne Makepeace.

Jessie also served as the vice-chairwoman of the Mashpee Wampanoag Indian Tribal Council. This shows her dedication to her community.

Awards and Recognition

Jessie Little Doe Baird has received many important awards for her work.

• In 2010, she received a MacArthur Fellowship. This is a very special award given to talented people.
• In 2017, she received an honorary Doctorate in Social Sciences from Yale University. This means Yale recognized her amazing contributions.
• In 2020, USA Today named Jessie one of their "Women of the Century." This honor was for her incredible work in reviving the Wampanoag language, which had not been spoken for 150 years.