Tolowa language facts for kids

The Tolowa language is also known as Chetco-Tolowa or Siletz Dee-ni. It belongs to a large group of languages called the Athabaskan language family. This family includes many languages spoken by Native American communities. Tolowa is part of the Pacific Coast Athabaskan group.

Where Was Tolowa Spoken?

When Europeans first arrived, the Tolowa language was spoken in many villages. These villages were located along the coast of Del Norte County in northern California. They were also found along the southern coast of Curry County, Oregon.

Today, people in California often use the name Tolowa. Many of them are part of the Tolowa Dee-ni' Nation. In Oregon, people often call themselves Chetco, Tututni, or Deeni. Most of them are connected to the Confederated Tribes of Siletz. Their ancestors were moved to a reservation southwest of Portland in the 1850s.

Bringing the Tolowa Language Back

The Tolowa language is being brought back to life! This is called language revitalization.

Who is Helping Revive Tolowa?

Loren Bommelyn is a very important person in this effort. He is a fluent speaker of Tolowa and a linguist, which means he studies languages. Loren Bommelyn has written several books to help teach the language. He also teaches young Tolowa students in Crescent City, California.

Alphabets for Tolowa

Since 1969, the Tolowa Dee-ni’ Language program has used different alphabets. This program was started by the Del Norte Indian Welfare Association.

The first alphabet was a Tolowa version of the Uni-fon alphabet. It was written by hand.

Unifon Tolowa alphabet

X

B

C

Ↄ

D

E

Ɪ

G

H

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

R

S

T

U

W

Y

In 1993, a new Practical Alphabet was created. This alphabet made it easier to type the language on computers. Later, in 1997, Loren Bommelyn developed another alphabet. It is called the Tolowa Dee-ni’ Alphabet. This alphabet uses letters that are easier to find on a keyboard.

Siletz Dee-ni Language

Siletz Dee-ni is a form of Tolowa. It was historically spoken by members of the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians. They lived on the Siletz Indian Reservation in Oregon. This area is a small part of the central Oregon coast.

In 2007, a report said there was only one living speaker of Siletz Dee-ni. However, the language has been partly revived since then. Now, many people in the community text each other using Siletz Dee-ni words!

Learning Siletz Dee-ni

Courses are offered for students in 6th through 8th grade. These classes are held at Oregon's Siletz Valley Charter School.

Alfred "Bud" Lane has collected a huge amount of Siletz Dee-ni words. He has gathered 14,000 words for an online dictionary. This dictionary includes audio and pictures. It is a great resource for the community to learn and use the language.

Tolowa Dee-ni’ Alphabet

The 1997 Tolowa Dee-ni’ alphabet helps people write the language. Sometimes, syllables are separated with a dash (-) to make them clearer. This alphabet replaces some special characters with simpler ones. For example, 'ą' becomes 'a~', and 'ł' becomes 'lh'.