A' Leaghadh sa Phoit Ghallda Se Dòmhnallach a th'ann agus tha e na cheann-suidhe air colaisde a tha strì airson fèin-mhisneachd a thoirt do sheann dualchas na dùthcha; ach b'e seo a' chiad turas aige gu Alba.	Melting in the Stranger's Pot He's of Clan MacDonald and he's the president of a college striving to give self-confidence to the older, native civilisation; but this was his first visit to Scotland.
'Se Innseanach Sailis a tha san Oll Eòsaph Dòmhnallach agus chaidh a' cholaisde aige a stèidheachadh le co-bhann nan treubhan Sailis is Cutanaidh air Tèarmann Flathead ann am Montana. Ach 'sann de shliochd a' chinn-chinnidh MacIain a tha e - mar a leughar san leabhar "Glencoe and the Indians" aig Seumas Mac an t-Sealgair (faic Cothrom 11). Dh'fhaodadh a shinnsear Gàidhealach a phòs ban-Innseanach, am marsanta bèin Aonghas Dòmhnallach, fiù 's Gàidhlig a sgrìobhadh - rud nach robh idir bitheanta tràth san 19 linn.	Dr Joseph McDonald is a Salish Indian, and his college was founded by the confederated tribes of the Salish and Kootenai on the Flathead Reservation in Montana. But he is the descendant of the chiefs of the Glencoe MacDonalds - as can be read in the book "Glencoe and the Indians" by James Hunter (see Cothrom 11). Angus McDonald, a fur-trading ancestor and Gael who could - unusually for the early 19th century - write Gaelic, took an Indian girl to be his wife.
Tha a shìol ruadh a-nis pailt ann am badan, ged a choisinn iad droch chliù airson an eaglais a sheachnadh, a rèir Eòsaiph. Innsidh e mar a thuirt aon seann sagart ris: "Dòmhnallaich - tha na coilltean làn dhiubh, agus dè am feum a th'annta!"	His native progeny is now plentiful in places, though they earned a bad reputation for church attendance, according to Joe. He tells of how one old priest remarked to him: "McDonalds - the woods are full of them, and what use are they!"
Nuair a bha e bhos an Alba thug an t-Oll Dòmhnallach òraid seachad do chruinneachadh de Ghàidheil sa Cholaisde Ghàidhlig, Sabhal Mòr Ostaig. Mhìnich e mar a bha 28 colaisde Innseanach air tòiseachadh aig treubhan sa USA, a bharrachd air trì colaisdean Feadralach, bho thoiseach 70n na linne sa, is iad "a' foghlam na h-inntinn agus a' foghlam an spioraid" le cùrsaichean cosnaidh, ealain agus eòlas Innseanach. Tha iad fiù 's a' tàladh oileanaich à coimhearsnachdan "gallda" agus à thall thairis.	When he was over in Scotland, Dr McDonald presented a lecture to a gathering of Gaels in the Gaelic College, Sabhal Mòr Ostaig. He explained how 28 "tribally-controlled" Indian colleges had been established in the USA since the beginning of the 1970s, as well as three Federal institutions, for the "educating of the mind and of the spirit" through vocational, arts and Indian studies courses. They have even succeeded in attracting students from non-Indian communities and from abroad.
Aon rud ùr na cholaisde fhèin, is gainne de dhaoine gus na deas-ghnàthan a chumail suas air an tèarmann, 'se sin cùrsa anns am bi sianar sheann Shailiseach is sianar Chutanach a' cumail cleachdaidhean cultarach is cànan ris na h-oileanaich fad bliadhna - am biodh an cothrom ann airson croitearachd is Gàidhlig ionnsachadh còmhla sna h-eileanan fo sgèith colaisde??	One radical feature of his own college, designed to relieve the shortage of those who could sustain the ceremonies in the reservation, has been a course in which six elder Salish and six Kootenai act as "mentors" for students learning cultural practices and the language for a period of a year - could there be an opening for a college to oversee the joint learning of crofting skills and Gaelic in the islands??
Ach bha bristeadh dùil aig an luchd-èisdeachd mu chor nan cànan, oir 'sann tron Bheurla a tha a' mhòrchuid dhen teagasg sna colaisdean Innseanach. 'Se àireamhan a chunntas, agus chan eil na colaisdean airson 's gun caill iad an grant a gheibh iad mu choinneamh gach oileanach, ge b'e dè an cànan a th'aca. A-rithist tha gainne de thidsearan le Sailisis no Cutnaidhis ann, agus cha thuigeadh ach glè bheag dhe na h-oileanaich iad co-dhiù - tha an dà chànan a' crìonadh gu luath; tha iad aig nas lugha na 5% dhen dà threubh a-nis.	But the audience were disappointed with the language details, for most of the teaching in the Indian colleges is done through the medium of English. It's numbers that count, and the colleges do not want to lose the grant they receive for each student "bum on seat", irrespective of tongue. Furthermore there is a shortage of teachers who speak Salish or Kootenai, and very few of the students would understand them anyway - the two languages are quickly declining; less than 5% of the two tribes are now conversant in them.
Thuirt an Dòmhnallach gur e an cànan Innseanach as fhallaine cànan nan Navaho, is mòran aca air cumail ri beatha thraidiseanta fèin-sholarach. Tha cothrom cuideachd aig cànan nan Sù agus nan Cròbh - tha e na chultar aig na Cròbhaich Cròbhais a bhruidhinn ri càch a chèile fiù 's nuair a tha goill sa chuideachd, ach eadhon san treubh sin tha buaidh air a bhith aig an telebhisean air an cainnt, ars esan. Tha e coltach gu bheil tùs-chànanan Aimeireagaidh a' leaghadh sa phoit ghallda.	Dr McDonald reported that the Indian language in the healthiest state was that of the Navaho, many of whom have kept to a traditional, self-sufficient lifestyle. The languages of the Sioux and the Crow also had some hope - it is in the Crow culture to speak their own language to each other regardless of non-Crow in the company, but even the Crow language is suffering from the impact of television, he said. It would appear that the native American languages are melting in the stranger's pot.

You can find more articles in the archive under Gaelic Column and information on the organization at C.L.I.