An American Indian charter school plans to teach Navajo language (...

[Ann Rowe]

I took the reading I took from those statements which I have put in bold text 
from the articles.  Those all seemed to indicate that the intention was to 
teach Navajo to Navajo children.

I am still interested in learning why the approach seems to be to restrict 
the teaching of what are, after all, local area languages only to children of a 
specific cultural heritage.  What is the motivation?  What are the goals 
related to that kind of restriction?

I realize this may all sound a bit peculiar, now that I stop and think about 
it.  My intention is not to offend anyone, so perhaps a little detail on me 
might help?  

I am working on preparing my prospectus for my Ph.D and it deals with 
sovereignty issues among indigenous, native peoples in the territory of the 
present-day United States.  As you can imagine - that covers a lot of ground.  But it 
has come to be my opinion that, historically, one of the definitive ways that 
any sovereign nation defines itself is through its language.  Among native 
peoples, this is coming to be more of an issue for all the reasons noted in the 
articles that stimulated this discussion.  As a consequence, language 
revitalization has become a vital part of the revitalization and sustenance of all 
native cultures in the Americas.

I would simply like to find out how people think about restricting or not 
restricting training in a language to members of the native population of the 
language.  It seems a key point in building any thorough thesis of any sort about 
connections between sovereignty and language.  

I hope I am making sense.  For example - I would love to know how and why the 
choice about Cochiti was made, Mia...how all of the people involved in the 
choice felt about the choice.

If I have blundered somehow - please accept my apologies.  
Ann


> I read both articles twice, and I didn’t see where they said they were only 
> teaching the language to Native students. 
> 
> 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. 
> 
> 
> Mia
> 
> From: Indigenous Languages and Technology [mailto:ILAT at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU] 
> On Behalf Of Ann Rowe
> Sent: Tuesday, April 25, 2006 2:19 PM
> To: ILAT at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU
> Subject: Re: [ILAT] An American Indian charter school plans to teach Navajo 
> language (fwd)
> are they serious about only teaching it to Navajo students?
> 
> 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?
> Ann 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: phil cash cash <cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU>
> To: ILAT at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU
> Sent: Tue, 25 Apr 2006 13:11:25 -0700
> Subject: [ILAT] An American Indian charter school plans to teach Navajo 
> language (fwd)
> 
> An American Indian charter school plans to teach Navajo language
> 
>  By Susie Gran
> Tribune Reporter
> April 25, 2006
> ....
> NAVAJO TEACHERS IN CITY SCHOOLS 
> 
> Navajo children in these schools are learning their native language: 
> La Mesa Elementary 
> Lowell Elementary 
> Painted Sky Elementary 
> Manzano High 
> Rio Grande High 
> West Mesa High 
> Cibola High 
> In August, the new Native American Academy, to be located at Wilson Middle 
> School, will also offer Navajo language instruction. 
> Source: Albuquerque Public Schools ...
> 
> Johnson's goal for her Navajo kindergarteners at La Mesa is that they speak 
> Navajo fluently by the time they leave fifth grade. 
> ...

> "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." 

...

> 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. 
> ...
> 
> At Sandia Pueblo, two teachers are bringing the Tiwa language to about 80 
> children in preschool and after-school programs at the pueblo. 
> ...
> 
> Only one Navajo parent in the past two years did not sign the permission 
> form required to enroll children in Johnson's language classes. 
> ...

> Copyright 2006, The Albuquerque Tribune. All Rights Reserved.
> 
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