Siraya update

[Chun Jimmy Huang]

Thank you Rudy for your encouraging words and the suggestion. Also 
thanks all those who have provided valuable information concerning 
precedents and/or indigenous multilingualism in the US. I will 
forward the suggestion and information to the Siraya 
Chairwoman/chief, Uma, in Taiwan.

Still while we Siraya recognize the symbolic value of language in 
identity legalization (playing along the nation-state's laws and 
regulations, yak!), (re)connection with our foremothers remains 
the most important motivation behind our current language 
revitalization efforts.

Chun/Jimmy

On Fri May 15 14:02:15 EDT 2009, Rudy Troike 
<rtroike at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU> wrote:

> The government response to the peaceful Siraya demonstration is 
> sad, and
> certainly inadequately informed. It would be useful to compile 
> information
> on precedents in the US, where tribal groups have been 
> recognized, even
> though they had completely lost their languages. This has 
> happened at the
> state level in California and (I think, Texas) and at the federal 
> level.
> 
> Regrettably, with the continuing dormancy of indigenous languages 
> worldwide,
> ethnic identity will be less and less based on linguistic 
> criteria. The
> argument for legal identity of an ethnocultural community should 
> not be
> dependent on current language use. This completely ignores the 
> historic
> basis for the claim.
> 
>     Rudy
> 
>     Rudy Troike
> 
>