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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>I read both articles twice, and I didn’t
see where they said they were only teaching the language to Native students. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>However, I was present in the ongoing
discussions between the State and Cochiti, and yes, for Cochiti, ONLY Cochiti
members learn Cochiti in the schools. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>Mia<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<div class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>
<hr size=2 width="100%" align=center tabindex=-1>
</span></font></div>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=2 face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Tahoma;font-weight:bold'>From:</span></font></b><font size=2
face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Tahoma'> Indigenous
Languages and Technology [mailto:ILAT@LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU] <b><span
style='font-weight:bold'>On Behalf Of </span></b>Ann Rowe<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Sent:</span></b> Tuesday, April 25, 2006 2:19
PM<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>To:</span></b> ILAT@LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Subject:</span></b> Re: [ILAT] An American
Indian charter school plans to teach Navajo language (fwd)</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>are they serious about <u>only</u> teaching it to Navajo
students?<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>what are your opinions on that idea? Should
indigenous languages only be taught to persons of the respective blood
heritage? If so, what problems are there with the idea? If not, why
not?<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>Ann <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><font size=2 face=Verdana><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana'> <br>
-----Original Message-----<br>
From: phil cash cash <cashcash@EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU><br>
To: ILAT@LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU<br>
Sent: Tue, 25 Apr 2006 13:11:25 -0700<br>
Subject: [ILAT] An American Indian charter school plans to teach Navajo
language (fwd)<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span class=headline1><font size=2 face=Verdana><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana'>An American Indian charter school
plans to teach Navajo language</span></font></span><font size=2 face=Verdana><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><span class=smalltext><b><font size=2 face=Verdana><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;font-weight:bold'>By <a
href="javascript:parent.ComposeTo('sgran@abqtrib.com');">Susie Gran</a></span></font></b></span><b><font
size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;
font-weight:bold'><br>
<span class=smalltext><i><span style='font-style:italic'>Tribune Reporter</span></i></span></span></font></b><font
size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana'><br>
<span class=smalltext><b><span style='font-weight:bold'>April 25, 2006</span></b></span><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><span class=bodytext><font size=2 face=Verdana><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana'>http://www.abqtrib.com/albq/nw_education/article/0,2564,ALBQ_19857_4649142,00.html</span></font></span><font
size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><span class=bodytext><font size=2 face=Verdana><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana'>Navajo Shannon Johnson builds her
students' vocabulary with words of the Navajo Code Talkers. </span></font><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><font size=2
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana'><img border=0
width=32 height=32 id="_x0000_i1025" src="%20"></span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span class=phototext><b><font size=2 face=Verdana><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;font-weight:bold'>Navajo language
teacher Shannon Johnson photographs her students performing as the La Mesa
Fancy Shawl Dancers in a recent performance at Wilson Middle School. Johnson,
who is Navajo, satisfies a growing demand for native language teaching across
the city and state, educators say. (Steven St. John/Tribune)</span></font></b></span><span
class=bodytext><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'> </span></font><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<div>
<table class=MsoNormalTable border=0 cellspacing=10 cellpadding=0 align=right
width=140 bgcolor="#EAEAEA" style='width:105.0pt;background:#EAEAEA'>
<tr>
<td style='padding:0in 0in 0in 0in'>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-element:frame'><b><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:bold'>NAVAJO
TEACHERS IN CITY SCHOOLS</span></font></b> <o:p></o:p></p>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-element:frame'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Navajo children in
these schools are learning their native language: <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-element:frame'><b><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:bold'>La
Mesa Elementary </span></font></b><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-element:frame'><b><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:bold'>Lowell
Elementary </span></font></b><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-element:frame'><b><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:bold'>Painted
Sky Elementary </span></font></b><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-element:frame'><b><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:bold'>Manzano
High </span></font></b><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-element:frame'><b><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:bold'>Rio
Grande High </span></font></b><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-element:frame'><b><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:bold'>West
Mesa High </span></font></b><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-element:frame'><b><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:bold'>Cibola
High</span></font></b> <o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-element:frame'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>In August, the new
Native American Academy, to be located at Wilson Middle School, will also
offer Navajo language instruction. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-element:frame'><i><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-style:italic'>Source:
Albuquerque Public Schools</span></font></i><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><i><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Verdana;font-style:italic'>Gah, Dzeh, Wol-la-chee</span></font></i><font
size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana'> and <i><span
style='font-style:italic'>Be</span></i> translate to "rabbit,"
"elk," "ant" and "deer." <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>Her students, all Navajo children who live in Albuquerque,
came to school knowing only English. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>In her La Mesa Elementary School language class, Johnson
insists they learn the way their ancestors did. In Navajo. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>The demand for native languages is growing across the city
and state, educators say. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>But teachers like Johnson are hard to find. The University
of New Mexico and the tribes are responding to the demand by training and
certifying more American Indians as language teachers. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>Johnson's goal for her Navajo kindergarteners at La Mesa
is that they speak Navajo fluently by the time they leave fifth grade. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>She has 30 minutes a day with them to get the job done. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>Once they leave her, they are on their own. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>Few, if any, of their parents know their native language.
And Albuquerque Public Schools does not offer any Navajo language classes for
middle schoolers. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>"There's a big gap," Johnson said. "There's
nothing in the middle for these students." <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>The new Native American Academy, a charter school to be
housed at Wilson Middle School, plans to fill that gap. Academy officials said
they will hire a Navajo teacher. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>The academy is scheduled to open in August with 100 sixth-
and seventh-graders. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>Academy organizers plan to tap the American Indian
teaching talent being developed at UNM. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>"They are asking us for our best and brightest,"
said Joseph Suina, director of a 2-year-old program designed for American
Indians who want to teach in their tribes or pueblos. "We have identified
people we'll recommend highly." <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>Johnson intends to apply for UNM's American Indian
Education Scholarship to pay for expenses while she pursues a master's degree. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>The scholarship program receives $900,000 annually from
the Public Education Department for scholarships to encourage American Indians
to pursue teaching careers. Those enrolled must spend at least three years
teaching in their pueblos or tribes. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>Suina said scholarships and workshops have drawn 40
prospective teachers to the program. An additional 20 UNM students are studying
American Indian languages. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>In all, 47 undergraduates and 18 graduate students are
enrolled in Suina's Institute of American Indian Education. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>Also, tribes and pueblos are starting to license their own
language teachers under an agreement with the Public Education Department.
Johnson was certified by the Navajo Nation to teach Navajo. She also has her elementary-school
certification. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>After two years at of exclusively teaching Navajo at La
Mesa, Johnson next year moves into a third-grade classroom at the Northeast
Heights school, which counts about 10 percent of its 670 enrollment as American
Indian. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>Johnson's replacement in the La Mesa language program may
be recruited from UNM's American Indian scholarship group. She's asking Suina
to help her recruit her successor. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>Unlike her Navajo students, Johnson, 32, spoke her native
language before she went to preschool. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>At Head Start in Arizona, she learned English and by first
grade was communicating in English with her teachers. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>"Prior to this, it was a hit-and-miss program,"
Suina said of training American Indian teachers, especially those wanting to
teach their native languages. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>Federal funding for such training dried up in 1982. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>"Native languages were not viewed on the same level
as foreign languages," he said. "They were treated as second
class." <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><font size=2
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana'><img border=0
width=32 height=32 id="_x0000_i1026" src="%20"><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span class=phototext><b><font size=2 face=Verdana><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;font-weight:bold'>Brett Morgan (top
left), 11, breathes in incense during a ceremony before he participates with
the La Mesa Sharks drum group. The Sharks and the La Mesa Fancy Shawl dancers
performed at Wilson Middle School earlier this month. (Steven St. John/Tribune)</span></font></b></span><span
class=bodytext><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'> </span></font><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>The Indian Education Act adopted in New Mexico in 1998
fueled the effort to serve American Indians, Suina said. </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>At UNM, students can study Keres, the language of six
pueblos, including Suina's Cochiti Pueblo; Tewa, the language of six northern
pueblos; Tiwa, the language of four pueblos, including those closest to
Albuquerque, Sandia and Isleta; and Zunian, the language of the Zuni Pueblo. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>Also, they can study the Athebascan family of languages
spoken by Navajos and the Jicarilla and Mescalero Apaches. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>At Sandia Pueblo, two teachers are bringing the Tiwa
language to about 80 children in preschool and after-school programs at the
pueblo. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>The pueblo intends to hire a third teacher and is working
with the Bernalillo Public Schools to offer the Tiwa language, said Gov.
Lawrence Gutierrez. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>Thirty-five percent to 50 percent of tribal members speak
their native language. The pueblo wants to make sure the language stays alive,
Gutierrez said. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>"As we lose our seniors, we can't replace them,"
he said. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>Native languages in the middle schools have been missed by
American Indian families. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>"The first attention it's getting is from the new
charter," UNM's Suina said. "No one in the middle schools even asked
for our assistance until now." <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>UNM and the charter school will complement each other, he
said. "The school came to us and we're going to be working out the
details. We have every intention to use it as a laboratory." <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>Native American Academy founder Kara Bobroff said the
university is a welcome resource for the new school. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>Suina and Johnson were among consultants called on to help
develop the charter school. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>Johnson is one of three Navajo language teachers in the
elementary schools. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>She doesn't blame Navajo parents for not teaching their
native language to their children. Most of them didn't learn it themselves and
are now afraid of losing it, she said. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>Only one Navajo parent in the past two years did not sign
the permission form required to enroll children in Johnson's language classes. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>She said the student attended one of her classes and
"thought it was too hard." <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>During her classes, Johnson rarely speaks a word of English.
Her students develop vocabulary through songs, artwork, games, stories and
life-skills instruction. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>Her students will be ready to break the Navajo code for
the spring parent program. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>They'll also introduce themselves and their parents and
recite the Pledge of Allegiance to the American flag and the Navajo Nation, all
in Navajo. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>Johnson said she is learning what works and what doesn't
as she teaches her native language. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>"In a way, you can say they are my guinea pigs,"
she said of her Navajo students.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>Copyright 2006, The Albuquerque Tribune. All Rights
Reserved.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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