Learning to connect (fwd)

[phil cash cash]

Learning to connect
Language, culture classes help create pride in Navajo heritage

[photo inset - Matt Slocum/The Arizona Republic
Teacher Rachel Antonio of Phoenix will teach Navajo language at the
Phoenix Indian Center.]

Mikaela Crank
The Arizona Republic
Aug. 7, 2004 12:00 AM
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/northphoenix/articles/0807phx-navajolang0807Z3.html

Carolene Bitsui left the Navajo Reservation in 1997 to pursue her
education.

Over the years in the Valley, she obtained her degree in drafting and
began working as a draft technician at Wilson and Co. to support her
daughter and two younger sisters in Mesa.

But through her journey, she had to cope with her homesickness and the
cost of not living in a Navajo environment. She was neglecting her
language and losing her heritage.

That all changed in 2000 when she took a Navajo language and culture
class at the Phoenix Indian Center.

The classes resume Aug. 23, with an enhancement: Children's classes will
be offered for the first time.

Bitsui, 29, has already enrolled her 8-year-old daughter, RoeShae, in
the class. She wants her daughter to learn Navajo so she doesn't have
to go through what she went through.

"It was embarrassing when elders would ask me questions and I couldn't
respond," Bitsui said.

"I have been in the classes for three years now, and it has improved my
confidence. When I go home, I can speak to my family, and they are
proud that I am learning."

RoeShae already has taken cultural courses with Freddie Johnson and has
become prouder of her heritage, Bitsui said.

"She is more excited about her culture and she can say her clans in a
drop of a hat," Bitsui said. "Her friends would always ask questions
about her culture and she didn't know how to answer, but now she is
able to tell them about it."

The high volume of requests from parents helped initiate the
kindergarten through third-grade course, Navajo language instructor
Rachel Antonio said.

Since 2000, Antonio has been the primary language teacher and will be
teaching the children's class.

"A lot of Navajos don't learn their native language because they moved
to the city for jobs and school," Antonio said. "The classes really
help them learn the values and principles as a Navajo. We need to keep
the language alive down here (Phoenix)."

She also said she has seen the program grow tremendously.

In the beginning it was difficult for the Diné College teacher graduate
to create a curriculum and get the word out.

After the first year, the interest and demand increased. Antonio began
to teach beginning, intermediate and advanced adult language classes.

The curriculum contains regular assignments and exams of the basic
principles of the Navajo language. There are two classes a year,
limited to 30 people for each class.

Established in 1947, the Phoenix Indian Center has been a facility for
urban Native Americans to get job training and educational resources
and to interact with other tribal members.

It is a prominent tool in the Native American communities to experience
a successful city lifestyle but keep ties with their native roots.

"It's a great program," Bitsui said. "I want my family to be proud of
being Navajo."