By Febna Caven

"Today is the beginning of a new era" -- Alma Gloria Temaj Morales, Mam Maya spiritual guide from Guatemala

Today is December 21, 2012, the end of the Oxlajuj Baktun cycle, the end of the "long-count" calendar that finishes up a 5,129-year cycle in the Mayan calendar. The ancient Maya people were master astrologers and timekeepers, tracking the stars and planets and developing a cyclical calendar. Today is also the Winter Solstice.

The team-based master apprentice project based at the Sac and Fox Nation has completed a multi-year effort to significantly boost the language proficiency of three second language learners. Funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Native Americans, the project was jointly administered by Cultural Survival’s Endangered Languages Program and the Sauk Language Department in Stroud, Oklahoma.