Over decades, Native Americans were facing fierce and severe oppression of non-Indians who targeted at ‘civilizing’ and ‘educating’ savages. Deemed they were helping English Americans were suppressing and erasing unique and beautiful Indian culture. Thousands of Indians were forcibly sent to schools in order to learn ‘correct’ language and values which damaged family relationships and distorted sense of belonging and cultural identity which brought Native American languages and culture in a catatonic state. However, despite all horrible deeds Native Americans try to rebuild and regain their cultural heritage in order to pass it to the next generations. A lot of efforts were put into the destruction of Native American languages because language is a cultural basis without which culture cannot exist. Thus, in order to see current situation in saving and teaching Indian languages one should analyze three articles from web newspaper Indian Country Today.
In her article called Native Language: Pathway to Traditions, Self-Identity Tsanavi Spoonhunter investigates and discusses changes in schools in the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony in Nevada. She presents small progress in the current situation in teaching Paiute language. Moreover, the author introduces Stacey Burns, a language and culture coordinator for the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony, who teaches the Washoe, Paiute and Shoshone languages within Reno-Sparks Indian Colony. Burns highlights importance of learning Native languages since they are sources of unique wisdom and reflect the nation`s essence and values. (Spoonhunter, 2016) Moreover, teachers who work in schools and teach Washoe, Paiute and Shoshone languages are volunteers who do not have permanent positions and as a result salary. However, Spoonhunter reveals some changes in this issue, thus she states that “three public high schools in the Washoe County School District will be introducing permanent positions for Paiute language instructors beginning in the 2015-2016 school year” which shows small improvements on the way of regaining Native American self-identity. (Spoonhunter, 2016)
Furthermore, columnist writer Frank Hopper in his article ‘Our Language Is Like Medicine’: Tlingit Immersion School to Provide a Path to Revitalization presents an Alaska Native language instructor Professor Xh’unei Lance Twitchell, who tries to revitalize Alaska Native languages. Thus Twitchell “plans a pilot program to begin in 2017 that’s designed around the Tlingit language and culture.” (Hopper, 2016) Also, he compares the current situation in teaching Alaska Native languages with Hawaiian hardships which were successfully overcame about thirty decades ago. According to Twitchell in order to get rid of a forced sense of shame which was implanted by western culturalization and education Alaska Indians should implement a similar schooling program as it was done in Nawahi Immersion School where most subjects were taught in Hawaiian. This approach helped to increase cultural identity and values.
Moreover, issues in language revitalization are discussed in the Christina Rose`s article Challenges and Solutions to Keeping the Lakota Language Alive where she presents the current situation in the Lakota Nest Immersion School on the Standing Rock Reservation in South Dakota and in the Lakota Summer Institute (LSI). She illuminates disturbing absence of qualified and fluent Lakota speakers and teachers. Moreover, underfunding takes its toll on language evolvement and revitalization which limits number of teachers and students in school. Also, another issue is a slow evolvement of the Lakota vocabulary caused by absence of authentic words for new things like Lego. Thus, there is a need for neologisms that can be resolved only by creating and testing new words which again brings to the limited number of fluent and qualified Lakota teachers and lack of funding.
All things considered in order to wake up Native American languages one should not only teach them in schools but also help them to evolve. It is vital to create an authentic speaking environment in which people, especially children will not be ashamed to speak Lakota or Washoe. To my mind language should not sleep because when it falls in catatonia it drags culture along with people into the deep, dark abyss. More attention and funds should be paid to this issue, for instance creation of various mobile language apps or websites which will unite and help Indigenous learners.
References
Hopper, F. (2016). ‘Our Language Is Like Medicine’: Tlingit Immersion School to Provide a Path to Revitalization. Indian Country Today Media Network.com. Retrieved 1 June 2016, from http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2016/03/27/our-language-medicine-tlingit-immersion-school-provide-path-revitalization-163787
Rose, C. (2016). Challenges and Solutions to Keeping the Lakota Language Alive. Indian Country Today Media Network.com. Retrieved 1 June 2016, from http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2015/03/03/challenges-and-solutions-keeping-lakota-language-alive-159277
Spoonhunter, T. (2016). Native Language: Pathway to Traditions, Self-Identity. Indian Country Today Media Network.com. Retrieved 1 June 2016, from http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2015/07/31/native-language-pathway-traditions-self-identity-161218
