Quote

[Richard Smith]

Kweh ömaterü
(greetings friends)

I understand and identify with these elders who will
often make strong statements as these at times.
But it should be heard not as criticism
as much as a painful lament.
These elders often feel disconnected not only with the outside
world but even with many of their own tribal youth today.
They think so differently, and have such different interests.
I'm also involved in reviving the Wyandot language left in a coma
And I feel deep urgency ...but this isn't often shared
By those of our own who are losing it and drifting far from center.
So there is a time to lament...a sadness to express...to vent...
Language,ceremonies and the stories are the fibers that hold us unique
And keep us from drifting into a generic ndnism
Often seen now in the pow-wow circuits.

Richard
Wyandotte Oklahoma


On 3/28/07 3:33 PM, "Jordan Lachler" <lachler at UNM.EDU> wrote:

> Howdy,
> 
>> " If you do not speak your language you are a white person with brown skin"
> 
> In my experience, this is not an uncommon sentiment.  There is an
> elderly, highly-respected chief among the Haida who I've heard say,
> on several occasions, in large gatherings, and with great seriousness:
> 
> "If you don't speak your language, how can you call yourself a Haida?"
> 
> Fortunately, he works (along with a dozen or so other elders) four to
> five hours a day on documenting and recording his language, so
> there's hope that other Haida people will in fact be able to learn to
> speak the language again.
> 
> I'm not personally aware of anyone who has taken up studying the
> language just from hearing him say those words. However, among our
> students that are already learning the language, those words really
> do resonate, and many of them take it in a positive sense -- not as a
> threat to their identity, but as an encouragement for their efforts
> to bring the language back, both for themselves and the Haida Nation
> as a whole.
> 
> Jordan