Connection to culture

The start of this school year brought a pleasant surprise for Moscow mother who has appreciated the effort from a pair of school district employees who have greeted her daughter each day in Nimipuutimt, the language of the Nez Perce Tribe.

Gia Paul, the mother of a third-grader attending Moscow’s McDonald Elementary School, was filled with joy this fall when she first heard her daughter’s school bus driver, Ken Nuhn, and student aide, Jay Dearien, welcome and bid farewell to her daughter, Laren, in Nimipuutimt.

Outside their home, Paul and Laren will hear a “Ta’ c meeywi” (“good morning”) at the morning pickup and a “Ta’ c kul’eewit” (“good evening”) at the end of the school day.

“(Nuhn) was trying to learn how to say these two expressions properly, so I joined in on it, too,” Dearien said.

Dearien and Nuhn try to pick up the language of their students when they can and believe they can’t understand a culture unless they learn the language.

Paul also said that speaking the language of her family’s tribe has brought more appreciation to their culture.

“These greetings have emphasized a connection within our culture,” Paul said. “It also gives (Laren) consistency in a daily routine and that makes a difference.”

Paul said her daughter has enjoyed hearing the bus aide and bus driver greet her in Nimipuutimt and has only seen great things within the Moscow School District since moving to Moscow.

“I had a wonderful experience already last year with the same bus drivers,’’ Paul said. “But this year, they took it to a whole other level.”

Carrillo-Casas is a University of Idaho student and intern with the Daily News. Contact her at mcarrillo@dnews.com.

About Nimipuutimt

For more on Nimipuutimt and its cultural importance to the Nez Perce Tribe,visit www.nimipuutimt.org/ and nezperce.org/about/language/.