Table of Contents

Preface Guide for Readers Contributors: Umo nhon Language and Culture Center, Umo nhon Nation Public School, and Omaha Language Instruction Team, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Illustrators Introduction by Mark Awakuni-Swetland, Wago nze U thix ide Part 1. Lessons from the Umo nhon Language and Culture Center, Umo nhon Nation Public School, Macy, Nebraska1. Beginning Resources 1.1 Writing System Quick Sheet: Umo nhon Iye-t e Awat egon Baxu-Non 1.2 Articles 1.3 Elders' Verb Patterns 2. Situation Quick Sheets 2.1 Guide to Using Quick Sheets: Wagtha baze U mak a 2.2 Animal Characteristics: Wanita Ushkon 2.3 Animal Drawing: Wanita Gthixu-a/ga 2.4 Animal Names: Wanita Izhazhe Etai-ge 2.5 Birthday Celebration Phrases 2.6 Classroom Phrases for Action Verbs 2.7 Classroom Phrases for Asking and Talking: Wemonxe t e, Iye Utha 2.8 Classroom Phrases for Beginning of Class 2.9 Classroom Phrases for Ending/Leaving: Aiathai-ki Utha 2.10 Classroom Phrases for Places and Movement 2.11 Classroom Phrases for Praise and Caring: Onxtiwathe, Wathanonbe, Wak ihide Utha 2.12 Classroom Phrases for Teaching: Wegonze-don Utha 2.13 Clothing and Weather: Hathe-t e Onba-ak a-shti 2.14 Coffee Phrases: Monkonsabe Utha 2.15 Coffee Script: Monkonsabe Utha Ukik ia 2.16 Colors: Ugaxe Azhi-thonthon 2.17 Days of the Week 2.18 Doings Phrases: Uzhawa Iye 2.19 Doings Cultural Note 2.20 Door-Answering Phrases for See You Later, Greetings 2.21 Five Senses: Wiubesni Saton 2.22 Baking a Cake: Wamonske Skithe Onguhoni-t e 2.23 Praying Over Food: Onwonhon'a 2.24 Sitting Around the Table: Wathat e Uthishon Ongthin 2.25 Four Directions/Points of a Compass 2.26 Four Seasons 2.27 Handgame Greetings: In'ut in That i 2.28 Handgame Setup and Instruments 2.29 Handgame Encouragements and Gameplay 2.30 Handgame Gameplay Phrases: In'ut in Shkade-k e Utha 2.31 Handgame Q&A 2.32 Handgame Worksheet 1 2.33 Handgame Worksheet 2 2.34 Handgame Flyer 2.35 Handwashing: Nonbe Kigthizha-t e 2.36 Household Objects: Indadon-shte Ti-adi-ge 2.37 Inviting and Visiting: Weku Tiupe Ethonba 2.38 In the Kitchen: Uhon Ti-adi 2.39 Money: Monzeska 2.40 Months of the Umonhon Calendar Year: Mi-k e 2.41 Numbers: Wathawa 2.42 Opposites 2.43 Outside and Play: Ashi Shkade The-Wathe 2.44 Relationship Terms: E awathe 2.45 Restroom Phrases: Ti Zhinga Utha 2.46 Telephone Phrases: Monze Iutha Utha 2.47 Time (Telling Time from the Clock): Mii donbe Anon-a? 2.48 Time (Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow): Sidadi Onbathe Gasonthin 2.49 Time of Day 2.50 Umonhon Language Pledge: Wongithe Onthip i 2.51 Wellness Actions and the Four Hills of Life Wellness Center: Niye Thinge Ti-adi Wagazhi, Pahe Duba Nita Monthin 3. Games: U shkade 3.1 Games How-To 3.2 Card Game Play Phrases: Wathibaba Ishkade Utha 3.3 Boardgame Play Phrases: Zhonbthaska Ashkade Utha 3.4 Ballgame Play Phrases: Tabe Ishkade Utha 3.5 Go Fish Phrases: Hugasi Monthin-a/ga Utha 3.6 An Umonhon Card Game: Tonkawe 3.7 Real Estate Boardgame Phrases 3.8 Grandma Says: Thikon Athigazhi 3.9 Natural Body Action/Total Physical Response 3.10 I'm Sorry: Uthuama 3.11 Pokeno Phrases: Pokeno Utha 3.12 You're in Trouble Phrases: Piazhi Shkaxe Utha 3.13 It Will Fall Phrases: Uxpathe-taak a Utha 3.14 Twist and Bend Your Body: Zhu Thibeni 3.15 Blackjack Phrases: Gthebon Nonba K i Edi Winonxchi Utha 3.16 Darts Phrases: Mondehi Ontha Thetha/ga Utha 3.17 Badminton/Racquetball: Wazhinga Zhinga Ut in-a/ga

3.18 Jump Rope and Tug-of-War Phrases: Hazhinga U'onsisi, Hazhinga Thidon Utha

4. Summer: Nuge Monshte 4.1 "Taps" Song and Memorial Day 4.2 Names of Months 4.3 Milkweed and Berries: Waxtha Waxta Skithe Ethonba 4.4 Nature Walk Lesson Plan 4.5 Umonhon Language and Culture Center Mission Statement 4.6 High School Umonhon Iye 1, 2, and 3 Scope and Sequence 4.7 First Days of School and Basic Self-Introductions 4.8 Self-Introduction Basic Curriculum: Ebe Bthin-t e Uwibtha-tamink e 4.9 Clothing and Weather: Hathe, Monshte 4.10 Umonhon Flag Song 4.11 Huthuga: Wayne Tyndall-ak a Huthuga Uthai-t e 4.12 Harvest Celebration: Hedewach i/Hethushka 4.13 Harvest Celebration Phrases: Hedewach i/Hethushka Utha 4.14 Umo nhon Regalia, Men's and Women's: Nu Wathaha, Wa'u Wathaha 4.15 Sewing Phrases: Waba t e Utha 4.16 The First Umonhon Powwow Princess: Mindashonthin (Gerine Woodhull Davidson) 4.17 Zoo: Wanita Ti-ata The-Wathe 4.18 Grocery Shopping: Pahonga Uthiwin Ti-ata Ongathai-t e 4.19 Sweet Drinks: Niskithe 4.20 Banana Splits: Waxtathiguzhe Masne 4.21 Funerary Sayings: Wat'e-k e Wagixe-t e-shti Utha 4.22 Grief in Our Umonhon Community: Utiha 5. Fall: Tonga xthon 5.1 Names of Months 5.2 Cheers for the Chiefs: Nikagahi Monthini-a/ga 5.3 Fall Phrases: Tonga xthon Utha 5.4 Justin McCauley's Cougar Story: Justin-ak a Wani ta Do nbai-t e Ugtha Go ntha 5.5 Homecoming Float 5.6 Candy Action: Zhonni That e-Wathe 5.7 Tribal Council Phrases: Gahiye Utha 5.8 Halloween Phrases 5.9 Halloween Silly Questions and Answers 5.10 Halloween Drawing Scene 5.11 Pin the Bone on the Skeleton Game 5.12 Flag Pledge 5.13 Corn Removal, Student Worksheet 5.14 Corn Removal, Teacher Handout 5.15 Coloring Activity for Food o' Plenty: Tehexthu'a 5.16 Thanksgiving Day Foods: Wathat e Tonga Onbathe 5.17 Set the Food Out: Wathat e-t e Awa-ta It eathe-a? 5.18 Thanksgiving Color Sheet Phrases: Wagthabaze Uga 5.19 Thanksgiving Day Verbs, "I Like" and "I Don't Like": Xta athe, Xtha atha-mazhi 5.20 Thanksgiving Bingo, Today Is Turkey Day: Zizika Onbathe 5.21 Thanksgiving Fill-in-the-Blanks Handout 5.22 Birds Go South 6. Winter: Ma gashude 6.1 Names of Months 6.2 Clothing and Weather: Hathe, Usni 6.3 Self-Introductions: Additional Phrases and Tisha Webster's Example 6.4 Basketball Phrases: Tabe Ugasnon Shkadai-t e Uwatha 6.5 Ceremonial Ball Toss: Tabe Ontha Thetha 6.6 Globe Toss Game: Awa-k e-ta Ne-a? 6.7 Conjugation Activity: "Muzhon Thishton" 6.8 Walnut and Corn Mush Story: Tage Washonge Iutha 6.9 "Deck the Halls": Wiuga Nakon T igthagtha 6.10 What Did Ned Eat?: Ned Indadon That e-a? 7. Spring: Me pahonga 7.1 Names of Months 7.2 First Thunder: Lawrence Cook-ak a Mepahonga Uthai-t e 7.3 Rainstick Activity with Weather Terms 7.4 Spring Tree Ornaments 7.5 Easter Phrases 7.6 Dyeing Easter Eggs 7.7 Hunting Eggs: Weta Ithathe-a? 7.8 Egg Salad Sandwiches/Deviled Eggs: Weta Wamonska Ubiskabe/Weta Uzi Igahi7.9 Mushroom Search: Tenixa Ugthezhe Ongunai-t e 7.10 Mushroom Worksheet and Games 1 7.11 Mushroom Worksheet and Games 2 7.12 Fried Mushrooms: Tenixa Ugthezhe Zhezhi 7.13 How the Umonhon Got the Corn: Te-ak a Umonhon-ma Wahaba-t e Wa'i-biama7.14 Put Up the Tipi: Timongthe 7.15 Kickball: Tabe Nont a 7.16 Earth Day/Mother Earth: Innonha Tonde 7.17 Standing Bear Speech: Manch u Nazhin Iya-biama 7.18 Mother's Day Phrases: Ihon Onba Iye-ge 7.19 Flower Pots and Flower Planting: Waxcha Uzhi 7.20 Dining-Out Script 7.21 What Will You Do in the Summer?: Monshte-ki Indadon Shkaxe-taninkshe? 7.22 Graduation Phrases 8. Additional Resources 8.1 Writing System Extension, How It Is Written in Umo nhon: Umonhon Iye-t e Awat egon Baxu-Non 8.2 Umo nhon Resource List 8.3 ulcc Glossary in Macy Standard Orthography: Umo nhon to English

8.4 ulcc Glossary in Macy Standard Orthography: English to Umo nhon

Part 2: Lessons from the Omaha Language Class at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln9. Cultural Lessons by Mark Awakuni-Swetland, Wago nze U thix ide 9.1 What Is Culture? What Is Language? 9.2 First Catch, First Fruits 9.3 How to Ask Someone for Help 9.4 Knife and Fire 9.5 The Spirit World 9.6 Food and the Spirits 9.7 Arriving at and Leaving an Umo nhon Campsite 9.8 First Thunders 9.9 The Four Hills of Life 9.10 Generosity and Gift Giving 9.11 Carrying Dishes to a Feast 9.12 Storytelling 9.13 The Omaha Handgame: I n ut i n, "Strike the Stone" 10. Introduction and Phonology 10.1 Welcome 10.2 Siouan Languages 10.3 Omaha Sounds: Oral Vowels and h 10.4 Omaha Sounds: Nasals 10.5 Omaha Sounds: Stops 10.6 Omaha Sounds: Fricatives 10.7 Omaha Sounds: Affricates 10.8 Omaha Sounds: Semivowels and Ledh 10.9 Omaha Sounds: Glottals 10.10 Consonant Clusters 10.11 Vowel Length and Accent 11. Expressions and Word Order 11.1 Nouns: "Who" and "What" 11.2 Verbs: What Is Someone Doing? 11.3 Adjectives: Stative Verbs 11.4 Numbers: "How Many" 11.5 Unitary Utterances 11.6 Useful Omaha Expressions 11.7 Noun-Noun Word Order 11.8 Noun-Stative Verb Word Order 11.9 Noun-Active Verb Word Order 11.10 Verb Chaining 12. Demands and Ablaut 12.1 Commands: The Particles a and ga 12.2 Commands: Ablaut 12.3 Plural Commands: i and Ablaut 12.4 Questions: a with No Ablaut 12.5 Third-Person Statement of Action: Ablaut for Declaration 12.6 Negation: Ablaut before "Not" 12.7 The Potential Particle tte 12.8 The Hearsay Particle Set bi ama 12.9 Signaling Demand in English and Omaha 13. Verb Conjugation 13.1 Affixed Pronouns: I and You Common Forms 13.2 Affixed Pronouns: I and You for Ledh Verbs 13.3 Affixed Pronouns: I and You for Verbs Beginning with Simple Stops 13.4 Affixed Pronouns: I and You for Verbs Beginning with Simple Stop g- 13.5 Affixed Pronouns: I and You for Old Glottal Stop Verbs and "say" 13.6 Affixed Pronouns: We 13.7 Person and Number of the Subject 13.8 Person and Number: Negation 13.9 Patient-Affixed Pronouns 13.10 Patient-Affixed Pronouns for a -, i , and u- Verbs 13.11 Agent-to-Patient Affixed Pronoun Combinations 13.12 Subject-Affixed Pronouns for Stative Verbs 14. Pronouns and Positionals 14.1 Inanimate Positionals 14.2 Active Subject Positionals 14.3 Animate Positionals 14.4 Articles 14.5 Future 14.6 Demonstratives: This and That 14.7 Demonstrative Pronouns 14.8 Emphatic Pronouns 14.9 Possessive Pronouns 15. Location, Motion, and Continuity 15.1 Postpositions 15.2 Positionals and Postpositions 15.3 Location Nouns and Adverbs 15.4 Verbs of Motion 15.5 Verbs of Motion with the a- Prefix 15.6 Return Verbs of Motion 15.7 Conjugating Verbs of Motion 15.8 Verb Chaining and Continuatives 15.9 Positionals as Continuatives 15.10 Declaration of Existence Using Positionals 16. Kinship and Causative Constructions 16.1 Grandparents and Grandchildren 16.2 Parents and Children 16.3 Siblings 16.4 Uncles and Aunts, Nieces and Nephews 16.5 Spouses and In-Laws 16.6 Causatives: The Basic Construction with -the 16.7 Conjugation of the Causative 16.8 The Dative Causative: -k ithe 16.9 The Causative of Potentiality: -wathe 16.10 Causatives and Kinship 17. Instrumental Prefixes 17.1 thi- "by hand" 17.2 tha- "by mouth" 17.3 non- "by foot" 17.4 ba- "by pushing" 17.5 bi- "by pressure" or "by blowing" 17.6 ga- "by force" 17.7 na - "by fire" 17.8 ma - "by cutting" 17.9 mu - "by shooting" 18. Locative Prefixes and wa- 18.1 The wa- Prefix 18.2 The i - Prefix 18.3 The Locative u- Prefix 18.4 Conjugation of Locative u- Verbs 18.5 The Locative a - Prefix 18.6 Conjugation of Locative a - Verbs 18.7 The Transitivizing i - Prefix 18.8 Conjugation of Transitivizing i - Verbs 18.9 Combinations of Applicative i and i - with Locative u- and a - Prefixes 18.10 Combination of wa- with Locative u- and a -, and i -, and i - Verbs 19. Self Affixes and Datives 19.1 The Possessive gi- Prefix 19.2 The Suus gi- Prefix 19.3 The Reflexive kki- Prefix 19.4 The Victimized kke- Prefix and Evidential t e 19.5 The Dative gi - and -i - 19.6 Conjugation of the Dative 20. Answer Keys 21. unl Glossary in unl Orthography 21.1 Umo nhon Orthography 21.2 Umo nhon Alphabet 21.3 Glossary: Umo nhon to English 21.4 Glossary: English to Umo nhon

Words of Encouragement

About the Author

Mark Awakuni-Swetland (1956–2015) was an associate professor of anthropology and ethnic studies at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, principal co-investigator for the Omaha and Ponca Digital Dictionary, and a coordinator for the Omaha Language Curriculum Development Project. He is the author of Dance Lodges of the Omaha People: Building from Memory (Nebraska, 2008) and the editor of the Omaha and Ponca Digital Dictionary.
 

Reviews

"Taken as a whole, the volume represents an active guide to the intertwined language and culture of the Omaha people. It is an essential tool for anyone who wishes to begin the path to a fluency in the Omaha language as well as for others whose goals may be less ambitious, but who wish to know and appreciate the people of this important Native American nation."—Michael J. Smith, Nebraska History

“This book, whose subject matter is critically important for any member of the Omaha Nation, can help a reader move from being someone who is simply looking to say a few words in Omaha to someone who can read, write, and speak Omaha at a conversational level. I consider it a major contribution to its field.”—Ryan Kasak, doctoral candidate in linguistics at Yale University