Blending native language, education & culture (fwd)

[Phil CashCash]

Blending native language, education & culture

Navajo-Hopi Observer- News
By Rosanda Suetopka Thayer
TC District Media Team
http://www.navajohopiobserver.com/NAVAJOHOPIOBSERVER/myarticles.asp?P=827170&S=392&PubID=11368

TUBA CITY — With linguistic statistical studies proving Native American
languages are in danger of becoming extinct and used less on a daily
conversation basis, many tribes are starting to take drastic steps to
ensure that their culture and language does not die.

Tuba City Unified School District No. 15 sees tribal language loss as a
serious issue for its 3,000-plus students and, on Sept. 24, devoted its
annual Cultural Symposium to the idea of integrating tribal language in
every aspect of curriculum activity.

More than 26 presenters gave individual session workshops at the Tuba
City High School as an annual in-service for its more than 500 staff
members. Parents and the public in the surrounding Tuba City District
area also participated in the sessions.

The workshops addressed traditional technique and art forms, native
consideration in modern research, cross parallels of different tribal
cultures and native ways to relieve stress in the home and workplace.
The importance of student character building using native language and
traditional cultural considerations was another area of emphasis.

TCUSD Associate Superintendent Dr. Harold G. Begay, who gave an opening
address, spoke to the very heart of tribal language concerns.

“It seems rather strange that there are many people across the U.S.
today wanting formal status as federally-recognized tribes,” he said.
“There are pending court litigations, on-going federal appeals for
recognition as an Indian tribe, and each day we’re seeing more and more
people of diverse backgrounds who have this desire to be recognized as
indigenous peoples.

“Meanwhile, we are also seeing more and more documentation about major
indigenous language crisis or language decline and loss. Is this why we
seeing more and more quest for formal Federal tribal recognition? This
may be the beginning of a major pan-national tribal cultural
renaissance.

Dr. Begay pointed out revenue’s role in native culture’s revival.

“It is pretty evident that the current resurgence in tribalism by many
people across our nation is driven not by culture and language interest
and revival but more by casino revenues, the potentially high
profitable economics of tribalism,” he said. Is there a lesson to be
learned from this?

“Maybe if our language and culture had a price tag, or if there were
dollars associated with it, we as speakers of our indigenous languages
would have a thriving economy or even be millionaires.”

Dr. Begay explained that the presenters would share their thoughts on
the non-commercial aspects of sustaining our native language and
culture.

“We could also dialogue on the potential profitability of native
language and cultures, seeing how we are an educational institution,”
he said. “As an educational institution, it is important that we take
the lead in shedding light on the value of our language and culture.”

Dr. Begay stressed the importance of retaining native language.

 “You may also hear or have heard quite often that our language and
culture are priceless,” he said. “If that is the case, why is it so
expensive to have a traditional ceremony?

“With English education, learning their language and culture is not
priceless but rather, it is extremely expensive in more ways than one,
especially with us as native peoples. There is a huge exacting cost
incurred when we are native peoples lose ourselves in English
education.”

According to Dr. Begay, there are many questions to raise on the value
of native language.

“As you go about the country, we often hear other nationalities converse
with their young in their native tongue,” he said. But, with our native
peoples, we seem to make it a point to converse with our children in
only one foreign language, the English language. Why?

“I am hoping that today’s speakers and presenters will allow us the
opportunity to dialogue on the value of our native language and
culture, not only for the present, but for years to come.”

Tuba City District currently has a Navajo language program developed for
grades kindergarten to 12t grade and, in the spring of 2004, will
implement a Hopi language program for its junior high and high school
students.

The Hopi language classes have been a long time in coming and have been
highly anticipated by its TC high’s Hopi student population. The focus
of this Hopi language project will be to provide an educational support
from the TC district for a teen population to be fluent in everyday
Hopi conversation.

The materials and curriculum developed for Tuba City District will be
under the guidance and support the Hopi Tribe’s Hopi Lavayi Project,
Emory Sekaquaptewa, a professor of linguisitics at the University of
Arizona in Tucson; and Sheila Nicolas, the director of American Indian
Language Development Institute also located in Tucson.

Tuba City District also designated last week Dual Language Week and
encouraged all indigenous speaking people working at TC district to
speak in their native language only. The idea was to help heighten the
awareness and importance of maintaining and supporting original
language and allowing the student population to hear languages from
countries all around the world as well as their own local tribal
languages.