Similar Stories to Keeping Native American Languages Alive: In “marie’s Dictionary,” Wukchumni Lives On on Bing News

Emmanuel Vaughan-Lee The title of Emmanuel Vaughan-Lee’s film, “Marie's Dictionary,” may not make it sound as thrilling as “The Last of the Mohicans,” but it has as much resilient spirit — and, possibly, character development — as that drama from 1992. The short documentary brings us into the home of elderly grandma, Marie Wilcox, who has been endeavoring to keep her native Wukchumni language alive through the creation of a written and oral dictionary. You can watch the full documentary, "Marie's Dictionary," on Salon Premium, our new ad-free, content-rich app. Here's how.  Salon talked to Vaughan-Lee about the creation of "Marie’s Dictionary," the state of Native American languages and the film’s indelible subject. Who are the Wukchumni? The Wukchumni are a non-federally recognized Native American tribe from the Central California region.