Reviving languages can be done

Keweenaw community seeks to save Ojibwe languageMembers say the language is an essential aspect of their culture.

"Language is communication, but also it tells who you are," said Earl Otchingwanigan, professor emeritus of Ojibwe at Bemidji State University in Minnesota. "Within the language itself, there is history and culture built into it."

"Other cultures around the world ... have brought their languages back from the brink of extinction, such as the Maori in the South Seas," he said. "The Jewish people in Israel have brought their language back, so it can be done."