ELL: Language policies in North America

[Eric Brunner-Williams in Portland Maine]

The English may be difficult, but The Circle Game's authors' summary of "the
Standard Account" is a mini-cronological narrative of causation, effect, and
remedy, and it distinguishes between "a recognition of responsibility" (then)
and "present manifestations of existing, unintentional injuries" (and now).

In "the Standard Account" it is the present (ongoing, uncorrected) injuries
that are "unintentional", in the improved present, not those of the unimproved
past, which are of course "intentional". The authors thought that Canadians
could be helped to understand themselves better if they understood the myth
they share in "the Standard Account", and were aware of at least one other,
"non-Standard Account". They may have been wrong.


> If Eric means that only those who are personally affected by residential
> schooling have valid points to make, I'd rather shut up here. And delete
> half of his citations.

Let's see, can the claimants, under a fairly large set of cases, define
their injuries, or can the respondents, or third-parties, define these?

Approaching the right-to-use issue from the framework articulated in the draft
guidelines contained in the Final Report on the Protection of the Heritage of
Indigenous People, there are three Principles that are responsive:

	3. Indigenous peoples should be recognized as the primary guardians
	   and interpreters of their cultures, arts and sciences, whether
	   created in the past, or developed by them in the future.
and
	9. The free and informed consent of the traditional owners should be
	   an essential precondition of any agreements which may be made for
	   the recording, study, use or display of indigenous peoples'
	   heritage.
and
	10. Any agreements which may be made for the recording, study, use or
	    display of indigenous peoples' heritage must be revocable, and
	    ensure that the peoples concerned continue to be the primary
	    beneficiaries of commercial application.

These may not apply to some ELLers, but #3 says Henry takes second fiddle,
and #9 says if Henry didn't get permission he can't play his fiddle, and
#10 says that if Henry plays the tunes of some Indigenous Peoples, he has
to have a revenue sharing agreement and take 49% of the cut, or less.

Personally, I favor going to the primary sources, even if it means shucking
a raft of secondary cites, and the phrase "self determination" [1] has a
technical meaning.

So, uh, which half did Henry have in mind?

Kitakitamatsinopowaw,
Eric

[1] Draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples,
    E/CN.4/Sub.2/1994/2/Add.1 (1994).
    http://www.usask.ca/nativelaw/ddir.html
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