UW Extension 4-H Pledge Translated into Menominee Language to Strengthen Youth Leadership

The University of Wisconsin Extension 4-H program posted on February 23, 2026 that the 4-H pledge has been translated into the Menominee language, presenting the Menominee-language rendering of the pledge and calling the translation a deliberate step to connect statewide youth programming with Menominee language and culture. The announcement links a statewide curriculum touchstone to local language work in Keshena and Menominee Indian High School.

For context, the canonical English 4-H pledge reads: “I pledge my head to clearer thinking, my heart to greater loyalty, my hands to larger service, and my health to better living, for my family, my club, my community, my country and my world.” Wisconsin 4-H publishes Spanish translations and defines the four Hs verbatim as: “Head stands for decision making, planning, organizing, problem solving and using knowledge throughout life,” “Heart stands for strong personal values, positive self-concept, concern for others, cooperation and communication,” and “Health stands for healthy lifestyles, character, ethics, stress management and disease prevention.” The University of Minnesota Extension site shows precedent for translating the pledge into Spanish, Somali and Karen, with its 4-H materials reviewed in 2021 and noted as supported by USDA NIFA.

Local implementation has been underway at Menominee Indian High School through a student-driven 4-H Language Club. Newmedia-wi reports that “The 4-H Language Club was started because of the need that a student, Robert Tourtillott, saw in our school, a place to speak our language outside of the classroom setting. We formed the club to give our students the opportunity to learn/utilize the Menominee language in a cultural setting. The students learned the 4-H pledge that is spoken in every 4-H club around the country, except it is spoken in our language. Jennifer Gauthier, the UW-Extension coordinator who develops every lesson in the language, translated the pledge for our students and explained the meaning behind the words we use before and after every meeting we have.”

Newmedia-wi also characterizes Jennifer Gauthier as central to the club’s work: “Jennifer is the driving force behind the club. She came to me and asked if it was [...]” The article names volunteer educator and cultural worker Ben Grignon, noting his background in Keshena and Green Bay and that he “was the librarian at Menominee Indian High School for five years and currently teaches traditional Menominee crafts. He lives in the town of Wescott.”

The club’s pedagogy mixes practical skills with language practice. Students “learn the words and we practice by telling each other how to prepare the meal in the language. Right now the students wanted to create an art piece together, so they are going to bead individual creatures in the Menominee forest. They will have to figure out how their piece will fit in the whole beaded mural. There is a lesson in this larger than we all realized when we started,” Newmedia-wi reports.

Participants frame the translation as part of a cultural survival effort. “Our language has been classified as nearly extinct. We have only a few cherished elders who still speak the language. The real crisis that we face are the lack of young people who speak. I think this club is so important to connect our youth with our language, our culture, which can never be separated. One does not exist without the other,” the reporting quotes.

Locally, the Division of Extension Menominee County/Nation maintains 4-H materials and contacts in Keshena: mailing address P.O. Box 279, Keshena, WI 54135, enrollment instructions directing forms to Sofie Teller, a 4-H Enrollment Packet 2025 and an Official handbook for new members 2024. The county’s land and cultural footprint underpins the effort: the coterminous Menominee County/Reservation boundary delineates 235,000 acres total, 233,000 acres in trust and 217,000 acres in commercially forested land under sustainable forestry management. The UW Extension 4-H post of February 23, 2026 positions the Menominee-language pledge as a specific step to marry that local cultural and ecological landscape with statewide youth leadership programming.