traditions of assimilation...
Richard Smith
rzs at WILDBLUE.NET
Thu Feb 28 04:00:40 UTC 2008
Thanks Carol,
that's an excellent example of why this issue is important.
Today i was in the classroom telling an old Wyandot story to spell bound
kiddos
maybe i shouldn't use (((("spell-bound"))))
but when i came to a certain place in the story i realized my choice of
words
could make some of the teachers nervous ,especially here in the Bible belt!
(Or as i like to say...we are in the BULGE over the Bible belt)
In the story a boy is being fed by two spirits that come from the head of a
steer.
But to just say it that way here and leave it, would have a connotation
of something scary----even "demon-possession"
So i had to preface,"Y'all know the story of Aladdin and the magic lamp?
when it is rubbed
the genie comes forth? well this is kinda like that....sorta like two genies
coming out
Well, Then it was ok...everyone could breathe a sigh of relief,
"ah..yes, like the genie"
You are absolutely right . The english translation "witch" has taken over,
even in many traditional N.American communities, when using english language
people talk about being "witched" and therefore needing the "medicine man",
or a priest,or a exorcism by a traveling miracle faith healer,
depending on ones belief in who has the most power.
Actually Its my understanding that the root Hebrew word for "sin" is likely
from
an ancient archery term conveying the meaning "too miss the mark"
(Hebrew scholars? correct me if i'm wrong)
Well ! if we reinstated THAT root definition who would have a problem with
it?
sure! at times we all "miss the mark!"
don't know of a person alive who would argue that they hadn't.
But..in time it became demonized to describe something nasty, a wicked
nature inherited from the original parents who listened to the talking
snake.
The cure often requires specific religious incantations of specific words
and rites
to complete cleansing/conversion often along with a promise to now be a
converter.
wow...strange isn't it?
Historic Christianity has actually given sin a "bad" name!
Richard Zane Smith
Wyandotte Oklahoma
On 2/26/08 3:18 PM, "McMillan, Carol" <CMcMillan at WVC.EDU> wrote:
> Beautifully stated, Ted.
>
> The Christianization of the British Isles incorporated into the English
> language the "evilization" of the native religions. "Witch" comes from
> "Wicca", the name for native healers, meaning to bend or shape or weave. So
> prevalent has the use of these terms become, that now one is truly unable to
> discuss the Celtic and pre-Celtic tribal religions without conjuring "demonic"
> images, if the speaker is using English.
>
> nwstulaxw
> ("Highlander")
>
>
> From: Indigenous Languages and Technology [mailto:ILAT at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU]
> On Behalf Of Ted Moomaw
> Sent: Tuesday, February 26, 2008 12:21 PM
> To: ILAT at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU
> Subject: Re: [ILAT] traditions of assimilation...
>
>
> Is it true that Mormans believe we natives are the lost children of Israel
> and if we are converted to mormanism, It elevates the converter to a more
> special or higer place in heaven? Also will the
> converter be placed higher than the lost child. If so I think it is a selfish
> practice that needs to be abandoned, to look at someone elses beliefs as less
> than your own is selfish, especially if it is thought to elevate oneself in
> Creator's eyes. Wow! This discussion is pertinent to this site because I do
> believe if it were not for religion we would not be scrambling to help our
> languages flourish.
>
> When an oppressive religion takes over, native languages become fragmented,
> once converted to an oppressors language or religion, what once was a part of
> the native language becomes set aside, thought of as evil, not passed on,
> something to fear, what makes a language beautiful and special is its deep
> conection to its own unique way of describing its beliefs about its own
> culture its own world view its own spirituality.
>
> Language is the paint creator gave to our soul to depict the world around us,
> and if another thinks I may need more colors on my pallet I would say he must
> be color blind, creator gave me all the paint I need, we call it nslxcin.
>
> xwistsmxikn
> Ted Moomaw
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Indigenous Languages and Technology [mailto:ILAT at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU]
> On Behalf Of Susan Penfield
> Sent: Tuesday, February 26, 2008 9:44 AM
> To: ILAT at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU
> Subject: Re: [ILAT] traditions of assimilation...
>
>
> Richard,
>
>
>
> Thank you for your well stated comments. Hopefully, we all stand by those
>
> who are abused. I have enjoyed much of this thread and found the varying
>
> opinions important to be aware of since this is a sensitive issue.
>
>
>
> I do want to add that, not unlike the Mormons you mentioned,
>
> Dr. Dirk Elzinga has dedicated much of his professional life to Indigenous
>
> communities and has accomplished a great deal for Indigenous languages.
>
> The community members I know who have worked with him have the highest
>
> regard for the care and professionalism he consistently demonstrates and are
>
> appreciative of the fact that he does not push his religion at them.
>
>
>
> I do not support the policies of many Christian churches, and other religiions
> as
>
> well, which condon and contribute to the opression of Indigenous people and
> which, in turn,
>
> thus contribute heavily to language decline. -- much of this is still going on
> worldwide and we should all
>
> be open to discussions that raise awareness about this issue.
>
>
>
> All of this points to the complexities and hard work demanded of language
> revitalization -- all the way from
>
> the real daily work of language teaching, to the more complicated and deeply
> ingrained conflicting
>
> ideologies which drive or detract from these efforts.
>
>
>
> Susan
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> On Tue, Feb 26, 2008 at 11:10 AM, Richard Smith <rzs at wildblue.net> wrote:
> Hi Mia,
> thanks for the comments and for your view on these things.
> Its not easy but i've been trying my hardest to NOT see things as "good and
> bad" but trying to understand what happens when different ideologies and
> different beliefs strike sparks against one another.
>
> I've seen "ugly" there on the Navajo Rez too, and in Bluff and Blanding.
> But i've also known Mormons like Bruce McGee who
> grew up around Pinion and Keams Canyon, his father fluent in Navajo
> as a trader. Bruce( a bishop) has dedicated his life to helping Native
> Artists get recognition to make a living as artists and he works now at the
> Heard Museum in Phoenix. Also Leroy Garcia (a bishop) of Santa Fe who
> own and operate Blue Rain Gallery, who spends his life promoting
> us artists sparing no expense and always celebrating native cultures.
>
> So i'm choosing to view the "sparks" that fly ...carefully
> But I WILL stand alongside people I see being abused.
> I've had to do a little "calm mediation" between strangers when i see
> women being mistreated by "boyfriends"....several times.
> My experience is that a calm-strong stand by a womans side can unnerve
> a verbal abuser , allowing him to hear how foolish he sounds
> when he is "the sound of only one voice yelling"
>
> Calm can do amazing things in volatile situations
> (actually I was calmly prepared to kick out the guys knee)
> When we look into paths of rebuilding,rekindling....and revitalization,
> we can choose to look at a ruin as a sad wreck or a monument.
>
> But whatever, rebuilding is still hard work!
>
> Richard Zane Smith
> Wyandotte, Oklahoma
>
>
>
>
>
> On 2/25/08 2:51 PM, "Mia Kalish" <MiaKalish at LEARNINGFORPEOPLE.US> wrote:
>
>> > Wow. Have we posted a count lately on how many versions of the bible we
>> have
>> > written in different languages?
>> > Have we counted how many Hawaiians and Polynesians - and American Indians
>> > for that matter - died because missionaries had entirely the wrong idea
>> > about clothing, associating it with some constructed view of morality
>> rather
>> > than the need to maintain a comfortable and safe body temperature?
>> > Have we counted how many people, especially women, have been made to feel
>> > "less than" because they had a child out of wedlock, or because they didn't
>> > want to dominated by their husbands?
>> > Religion has always, always, always contributed to social and linguistic
>> > hegemony, whether people - Dr?/Mr? Elzinga included - want to admit it.
>> > And speaking specifically of Mormons? I am here on Navajo, and I can't
>> count
>> > the number of people who don't know who they are socially, culturally,
>> > historically and linguistically because they were taken away as children >>
and
>> > placed - Specifically - in Mormon homes.
>> > And I might add, from personal experience, these are some of the nastiest
>> > and cruelest people I have ever met. Is it a function of Mormon - where I
>> > have been told educated MEN have the most power, especially over women (so
>> > you can guess how I think and feel about that!) - I don't know. I think it
>> > is a matter of proselytizing justifying its behaviors to the hurt of
>> others.
>> >
>> > So Dirk Mr/Dr Elzinga, I am sure there are a lot of lists where people talk
>> > about how great the idea of changing language and culture by immersion of
>> > white religious ideas into the bibles was and still is. But they aren't
>> this
>> > one.
>> > By the way, I'm Jewish, and my idea of Christ doesn't even come close to
>> > what the white mythics constructed in the name of power, destruction and
>> > often just pure meanness.
>
>> > Mia
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> > -----Original Message-----
>> > From: Indigenous Languages and Technology
>> [mailto:ILAT at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU]
>
>> > On Behalf Of Dirk Elzinga
>> > Sent: Saturday, February 16, 2008 11:05 AM
>> > To: ILAT at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU
>> > Subject: Re: [ILAT] traditions of assimilation...
>> >
>> > Oh, for Pete's sake.
>> >
>> > I signed on to this list to listen to, and engage in discussion about
>> > indigenous languages and techonology (that is the list name, after
>> > all). A discussion of my religious beliefs (I am a member of the
>> > Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the religion whose name
>> > you seem to be stepping around) isn't appropriate in this context,
>> > nor does it contribute to the list's purpose. There are any number of
>> > Mormon-bashing blogs and websites you can visit if that's your thing.
>> >
>> > Dirk Elzinga
>> > --
>> > Department of Linguistics and English Language
>> > Brigham Young University
>> > 4043 JFSB
>> > Provo, UT 84602
>> > 801.422.2117
>> > Dirk_Elzinga at byu.edu
>> >
>> > On Feb 16, 2008, at 10:29 AM, MJ Hardman wrote:
>> >
>>> >> "Assimilation" is a mild way to say it. And as to Republican
>>> >> candidates --
>>> >> the drop-out -- that religion does indeed hold as a dogma that the
>>> >> US was
>>> >> founded in order for the true church to be reestablished & thus,
>>> >> yes, the US
>>> >> belongs to white people, who have come to bring the Native
>>> >> Americans back
>>> >> into the fold, after they transgressed (explained in one of their
>>> >> sacred
>>> >> books) and thus were made dark -- the fold of the white folks, of
>>> >> course.
>>> >> The Native Americans aren't as dark as blacks, whose transgression was
>>> >> worse, being descendants of Cain, though they have now been
>>> >> forgiven and can
>>> >> be brought into the fold. Since Native Americans are all from the
>>> >> lost
>>> >> tribes of Israel, they have been rapidly welcomed into the fold,
>>> >> including
>>> >> by adoptions whenever possible.
>>> >>
>>> >> And if what I wrote above sounds psychotic -- well, Mia, it's what
>>> >> they do
>>> >> indeed believe. They soft-pedal a lot of it for outsiders, they
>>> >> are *very*
>>> >> concerned about 'image' -- they are, after all, selling a
>>> >> religion. It was
>>> >> scary. And what scares me now is the vice-presidency.
>>> >>
>>> >> MJ
>>> >>
>>> >> On 2/14/08 3:08 PM, "Mia Kalish" <MiaKalish at LEARNINGFORPEOPLE.US>
>>> >> wrote:
>>> >>
>>>> >>> There IS a tradition of "assimilation," usually no matter what it
>>>> >>> takes to
>>>> >>> get there. There was a story . . . Carolyn, Harrington's ex-wife,
>>>> >>> found
>>>> >>> papers in California that demonstrated the Indians were being
>>>> >>> "baptized" by
>>>> >>> 1st, clubbing them over the head until they were senseless and
>>>> >>> couldn't
>>>> >>> protest, and 2nd, being carried to the baptismal ceremony by their
>>>> >>> guards,
>>>> >>> who also functioned as the witnesses or whatever they call them.
>>>> >>> The whole purpose of the boarding schools was to take children
>>>> >>> away from the
>>>> >>> influence of their families and cultures so they would grow up
>>>> >>> "white."
>>>> >>> I think the fact that they wrote this is very Freudian: People are
>>>> >>> admitting, albeit subconsciously, that they are deliberately
>>>> >>> interfering
>>>> >>> with the lives of others.
>>>> >>>
>>>> >>> I heard a speech the other day by one of those Republicans who
>>>> >>> dropped out
>>>> >>> of the presidential race, and he actually seemed to believe that this
>>>> >>> country "belongs" to white people. He had no understanding or
>>>> >>> recognition of
>>>> >>> the fact that colonizers engaged in active and sustained genocide
>>>> >>> to kill
>>>> >>> the people who were living here originally. And by the way, he had
>>>> >>> all these
>>>> >>> statistics of the number of "out of wedlock" births by people of
>>>> >>> color.
>>>> >>> Implicit in this is the cultural moré that womens' only function
>>>> >>> in life is
>>>> >>> to take care of men. (NOT.)
>
>>>> >>>
>>>> >>> Mia
>>>> >>>
>>>> >>>
>>>> >>>
>>>> >>> -----Original Message-----
>>>> >>> From: Indigenous Languages and Technology
>>>> >>> [mailto:ILAT at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU]
>
>>>> >>> On Behalf Of Richard Smith
>>>> >>> Sent: Tuesday, February 12, 2008 10:40 PM
>>>> >>> To: ILAT at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU
>>>> >>> Subject: Re: [ILAT] traditions of assimilation...
>>>> >>>
>>>> >>> yeah,
>>>> >>> did you catch that....? "a Tradition of Assimilation"
>>>> >>> wow...amazing... we have traditionalists in office!
>>>> >>> By the way...who's "tradition of assimilation?"
>>>> >>>
>>>> >>> richard zane smith
>>>> >>> Wyandotte, Oklahoma
>>>> >>>
>>>> >>>
>>>> >>> On 2/11/08 8:55 AM, "phil cash cash" <cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU>
>>>> >>> wrote:
>>>> >>>
>>>>> >>>> Momentum Building for Oklahoma Official English Bill
>>>>> >>>>
>>>> >>> http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/
>>>> <http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/>
>>>> >>> story/02-11
>>>> >>> -2
>>>>> >>>> 008/0004753576&EDATE=
>>>>> >>>>
>>>>> >>>> ~~~
>>>>> >>>>
>>>>> >>>> While there seems to be respect for Native American languages,
>>>>> >>>> these are
>>>> >>> the
>>>>> >>>> words of legislators behind the English-only bill in the Oklahoma
>>>>> >>>> state
>>>>> >>>> legislature:
>>>>> >>>>
>>>>> >>>> "...maintain a tradition of assimilation through our
>>>>> >>>> common language of English."
>>>>> >>>>
>>>>> >>>> It seems hard to reconcile this position with Native American
>>>>> >>>> language
>>>>> >>>> preservation. Though I imagine the architects of such
>>>>> >>>> legislation view NA
>>>>> >>>> languages as "preservation at a distance".
>>>>> >>>>
>>>>> >>>> l8ter,
>>>>> >>>>
>>>>> >>>> Phil
>>>>> >>>> UofA
>>>> >>>
>>> >>
>
>
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