Language more important than land - academic (fwd link)

Wed Sep 19 18:18:29 UTC 2012

The dispossession and ethnic cleansing by force and legal judicial action
by a wonderful new democratic society as USA
is a disturbing contradiction difficult to grasp. It still raises that
inner dark question of  "Are we somehow less human
to be disposed of so systematically by such a flag waving, cheering smiling
patriotic people?"

When a people with cyclical ceremonial life are removed form homelands and
placed on lands that are basically "foreign"
it is very difficult for land based ceremonies and life-ways to survive.
When my own ancestors surveyed lands in Kansas
prior to forced removal ,the scouts reported that the land was lacking in
maple trees, which were such a part of our lives.
To remove even one ceremony (as the Thanking of the Maples) one busy
cultural activity as sap harvesting, was to break a
spoke from the wheel of our highly fluid and active Lifeway circle within
which all seasons flowed together.
The Midwinter ceremonies themselves ceased when Oklahoma weather was found
so different than northern climates.
Adaption to that which is new is not the issue. The issue is an undermining
of land/mind/community/life-cycle.

So even when ceremonies do survive ,its within context of some distant
place....and some spoken distant past,
more of a memorial activity ...no longer representing the land and action
we now live with. A symbol is not reality itself,
and symbolic actions,even ceremonial activities, can easily become rituals
drifting from the reality of community living.
Combine relocation with the missionary drive to imbed into the hearts and
minds of children middle eastern creation stories,
and  frightening pictures of a "hell" for those who do not renounce their
pagan ways... we end up with a very mixed up tribal identity,
depression and a sense of worthlessness and betrayal. Betraying our
families if we convert, betraying modernity if we don't.

its difficult to write about, to express. I haven't read much on this
topic, yet.
i'm simply speaking from personal struggle,thoughts and observation.

ské:nǫh
Richard Zane Smith
(Sǫhahiyǫh)

On Fri, Sep 14, 2012 at 10:34 AM, Dr. MJ Hardman <hardman at ufl.edu> wrote:

>  What you say is the way I understood it 50+ years ago when I first went
> into the mountains and discovered that the only people in town during the
> day were the schoolkids, the ill, the drunks sprawled in the plaza - all
> men, and one blind man.  The drunks were all men who had left and come
> back.  I learned what women could do and could be and for that I am
> profoundly grateful.  I had, naively, expected to work with the women
> during the day (utter ignorance on my very young part).  I worked with the
> blind man, who was a superb teacher and who very much enjoyed working with
> me with his Jaqaru.  Since it was always dark, he was often the one who did
> the irrigating at night, and he liked to travel at night.  But the drunks,
> as I read it, were those who had left, been in the military or some other
> experience, learned the sexism/racism of the hispanic system and come back
> unable to fulfill the expectations of either culture, and thus, unable to
> feel good about themselves.  This is an observation of the late 50s, but it
> correlates with what you are saying and the way in which they were treated
> while they were away, in ways they could not admit nor process.  It seemed
> even more evident as I learned more about Jaqi culture.  MJ
>
>
> On 9/13/12 9:49 AM, "Richard Zane Smith" <rzs at WILDBLUE.NET> wrote:
>
> Thanks Rolland and thanks MJ!
> look forward to reading it.
> From our Wyandot removal, actually ALL the small nations removed to this
> NE corner of OKL.
> we are very likely some of the most assimilated people groups. Also among
> the most belittled,
> and shamed, from all sides for not surviving as "real Indians"  ( another
> big topic entirely)
> There is VERY likely a corolation between land loss (legalized ethnic
> cleansing),
> and depression, alcoholism, poverty, the loss of identity,as well as the
> obvious, language and ceremony.
>
> Indigenous people groups, leaving homelands behind are in some way
> "reconstructed" people groups.
> In our past captives were expected to leave behind the identity they were
> born into,
> to merge into their adopted clan and phratry. In many regards we are
> captives taken to
> a foreign land -  trout raised in a pet store...
>
> unę́h,
> Richard
>
>
>
> On Thu, Sep 13, 2012 at 2:07 AM, Rolland Nadjiwon <mikinakn at shaw.ca>
> wrote:
>
> P.P.S. to my post:
>
> Hardman, M. J. (1994) “’And if we lose our names, then what about our
> land?’, or, what price development?” in L. H. Turner and H. M. Sterk (eds)
> *Differences that Make a Difference: Examining the Assumptions in Gender
> Research* (pp. 152-161). Westport & London: Bergin & Garvey.
>
> http://plaza.ufl.edu/hardman/DTPacket/linguisticpostulate.pdf    in the
> .pdf format it is pages 34-39(equals 151-161)
>
>
> wahjeh
> rolland nadjiwon
> ________________
> Harper is a joke and 'pansy' to anyone and any country that will act as
> his 'sin eater'...
>
>
> ------------------------------
> *From:* Indigenous Languages and Technology [
> mailto:ILAT at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU <ILAT at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU>] *On Behalf
> Of *Huang,Chun
> *Sent:* September-12-12 9:35 PM
> *To:* ILAT at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU
> *Subject:* Re: [ILAT] Language more important than land - academic (fwd
> link)
>
> Thank you, Bernadette Adley-SantaMaria
>
> I recommend Hardman's article below where, through studying Jaqaru, she
> explains how land is indeed, as you point out, intertwined with language
> (both  being parts of the whole): if you lose one, you lose the other.
> Hardman also demonstrates how English, especially the English cultural
> thinking as manifested its three major linguistic postulates, can often do
> damage to the indigenous/local. One of the English postulates Hardman
> identifies is "ranking through comparative/absolute," which the original
> article in question here exemplifies very well for us: "*Language (is)
> more important than land!*" Really, what's the point of ranking the
> importance of language against the importance of land anyway??? Many
> English users, unfortunately, seem unable to escape such ranking mentality.
>
> Hardman, M. J. (1994) “’And if we lose our names, then what about our
> land?’, or, what price development?” in L. H. Turner and H. M. Sterk (eds)
> *Differences that Make a Difference: Examining the Assumptions in Gender
> Research* (pp. 152-161). Westport & London: Bergin & Garvey.
>
> Let me or Dr. Hardman know if you can't find a copy. I believe she
> wouldn't mind sharing.
>
>
>
> Chun (Jimmy) Huang
>
> Siraya of Taiwan
>
> Assistant Professor, University of Guam
>
>
>
>
> Dr. MJ Hardman
> Professor of Linguistics and Anthropology
> Department of Linguistics
> University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida
> Doctora Honoris Causa UNMSM, Lima, Perú
> website:  http://grove.ufl.edu/~hardman/
>

-- 

 "…revitalizing our language is really just an act of returning to what we
are supposed to be. It is like a fish returning to the water, breathing and
living once again. "Xh'unei Lance E. Twitchell (Tlingit)
*

 richardzanesmith.wordpress.com

**

**

*
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/ilat/attachments/20120919/2dc90c0e/attachment.htm>