Quote

[phil cash cash]

Andre, these might match your quote.

Eli Taylor, Sioux Nation...

"Without language we will cease to be a people."

Assembly of First Nations. (1993). Declaration on Aboriginal Languages. 
Pamphlet.

Robert Bunge, Lakota Sioux...

"A people who lose their language and the view of the universe 
expressed by that language, can no longer survive as a people, although 
they can survive as rootless individuals" (1989:19).

Bunge, R. (1989). Language: the psyche of a people. In Our Languages, 
Our Survival, p. 13-20. University of South Dakota.

Also, to echo Jordan's statement, I have been told this sentiment 
directly by some well-respected elders in my community, "The Cayuse 
lost their language and so they are no longer Cayuse."  It is certainly 
true that the Cayuse lost their language due to a 19th century language 
shift to Nez Perce, a neighboring language (a hundred years before 
today's contemporary language shift to English!).  However, their 
adoption of the Nez Perce language remains a mystery and is probably 
due to a number of interrelated factors (disease coupled with 
population decline, the horse, intermarriage, secrecy, etc).

Nevertheless, the statement is/was by no means uncommon since the 
fluent speakers who often issue such statements are also responsible 
for strongly advocating against pan-Indian beliefs and 
acculturation/assimilation.  So in this sense, the identity=language 
link, when used in this manner, tends to act as a resistive barrier to 
these forces.  This is especially so given that these same elders also 
survived the abusive boarding school system despite the odds against 
them.

When I was told this, I was taken aback as they were certainly harsh 
words.  But I persisted in my learning with these same elders.  Days 
later, they indicated to me (teasing/laughing), "a weaker person would 
have stormed off and never returned, but here you are!"

A moment of recognition in this bigger struggle we all share I suppose. 
  ;-)

Phil Cash Cash (cayuse/nez perce)
UofA


On Mar 28, 2007, at 2:02 PM, Andre Cramblit wrote:

> I once heard a quote that went something like this....
> " If you do not speak your language you are no longer a member of your 
> tribe but a descendant of Tribal members."
>
> Does anyone know the origin of this quote, or the accurate phrase???
>
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