Language
Kickapoo speak an Algonquian language closely related to that of the Sauk and Fox. They were classified with the Central Algonquians, and were also related to the Illiniwek.
As of 2001, the Kickapoo Nation’s School in Horton, Kansas had been teaching the Kickapoo language in grades K-6 for 15 years. In 2010, the Head Start Program at the Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of Texas (KTTT) reservation, which teaches the Kickapoo language, became "the first Native American school to earn Texas School Ready! (TSR) Project certification." Also in 2010, Mexico's "National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) participates in the elaboration of a Kickapoo alphabet that may be used by more than 700 members of the group that dwells Mexico and the United States, in the area of Coahuila and Texas. There is no Kickapoo alphabet in Mexico; although there is a syllabic writing system it has no element ordination, organization or classification method." The Kickapoo in Mexico are known for their whistled speech.
The Kickapoo language and members of the Kickapoo tribe were featured in the movie The Only Good Indian, a fictionalized story of Native American children forced to attend a boarding school.
Texts, recordings, and a vocabulary of the language are available.
Read more about this topic: Kickapoo People
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