The Mission To Save The ‘Sleeping’ Language That Named Chicago

The language that gave Chicago its name had not been spoken in more than 50 years – until recently. Chicagoans of Myaamia (or Miami) heritage have been reviving their native language, Myaamiaataweenki – and even creating new words for modern times. Reset speaks with Chicago Reader journalist Paul Dailing as well as George Strack and Brad Kasberg, two descendants of the Myaamiaki, about what it takes to revive a language no one spoke, and what this work means to them. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.