Senior Honors Project Fall 2020

Reversal in Time:

A Chance to Restore the Dine Language

Morgan Nez

Navajo Nation

Published Morgan Nez SHP- Fall.webm

Research

Sharing One Skin

Armstrong, Jeannette. 1996 “Sharing One Skin: Okanagan Community.” Pp. 460-470 in Jerry Mander and Edward Goldsmith (eds.), The Case Against the Global Economy, San Francisco, CA:Sierra Club Books.

Similar to the article above, Sharing One Skin conveys the message that the ways of her people are different from the dominating culture. Using her Okanagan identity to interpret the connections to the Four Capacities of Self found important in the development of a person.These include the physical self, the emotional self, the thinking-intellectual self, and the spiritual self. She also talks about the importance of community and language for the development of a person. Also translating the meaning of the word ‘Okanagan’ to give the reader a better understanding of who she is. To start the article out she tells a story about the time when she was with her father and his mother. While sitting with them looking from a nearby valley her grandmother had said, “The people down there are dangerous, they are all insane.” To which the father replied, “It’s because they are wild and scatter anywhere.” From here she uses the connections to give an explanation to the statements. One clear explanation was, “The capacity to bond is absolutely critical to individual wellness. Without it the person is said to be “crippled/incapacitated” and “lifeless.” Not to have community or family is to be scattered or falling apart, which is how my father put it that day by the hillside.” These views are a guidance the Okanagan believe that bring true peace to themselves and those around them. I agree with this whole article making connections to how I was brought up. I do know the importance of these factors even though I am not from the Okanagan tribe. Being Navajo it's a bit different from an upbringing but it's mostly the same as what we are taught at a young age. We are taught to respect, think positive thoughts, and to consider others before ourselves. The importance of family and community has also been instilled in my upbringing. A sentence that caught my attention was, “The way we act has a significant effect on the Earth because it is said that we are the hand of the spirit, and as such we fashion Earth pieces with our knowledge and therefore transform the Earth. We are keepers of the Earth because we are the Earth. We are old Earth.” I agree with this statement as a Native myself because well most of our creation stories were told that we are from the Earth. Also considering that before colonization we were the ones taking care of the land.

Native American in Contemporary America

Kinbacher, Kurt E. “Native Americans in Contemporary America.” The Native Americans, Second Edition, Facts On File, 2017. American Indian History, online.infobase.com/Auth/Index?aid=18626&itemid=WE43&articleId=405950. Accessed 9 Nov. 2020.

In the article “Native Americans in Contemporary America,” there is a brief information about the potential future for smaller indigenous communities and just the overall future for indigenous communities. It is also briefly explained some of the policies implemented in commitment to Indigenous languages. There is also a brief explanation about how and why there is a rapid loss of language, these include the refusal to speak the language when entering adulthood and the historical factors. Ever since Europeans made contact with us there has been a progression of language loss and it is actually estimated that by 2050 most of the surviving languages could be lost.
This made me emotional in a way that just motivated me more to encourage others, especially people my age and younger than me to learn and pass on our language. It also shocked me to learn that there is an estimation that we will lose most of our language in 2050 which is really not that far from now. However I am also disappointed in our country, America has failed to protect what is most important to us, they have failed Indigenous communities. We have a past of trauma especially in school’s which were made to hurt us, to take our identities away.

Native American Identity

Horse G. Perry, Native American Identity. New Directions For Student Services. Pp 61-68. Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Spring 2005. No. 109.

In Perry G. Horse’s article based on Native American identity goes through a series of elements on the guiding question of, what makes an American Indian, Indian? Using her Kiowan identity, she explains how influencing culture affects American Indian identity especially in today's world. Ethnic Nomenclature discusses the ethnic terms used to describe us, ultimately these terms are a matter of preference. Racial attitudes talks about relationships between White privilege and underprivileged. Stating, “If we accept that American Indians have been or are oppressed, part of our identity is subordinated. We consciously or unconsciously take on the characteristics of the oppressors.” Legal and political status of American Indians are often found through CIB to be federally recognized as a member of a Native tribe. However our individual identity relies on the clan kinship, descendant status, and tribal name. Colonialism-a factor to all this-has brought a change culturally throughout generations which may continue to do so.
While reading this article I couldn’t help but make some connections but at the same time also think about this situation of identity especially with my generation. I noticed the preference of name, in my generation we prefer to use the term ‘Indigenous’ or ‘Native American.’ We turned away from the term “Indian” because we are not from India, also due to the fact that this term is a colonized one. There is a sentence I found interesting, “In many ways we have assimilated into the dominant culture. On the surface it seems we are indeed like them.” In my generation we are constantly transitioning, we may dress ‘normally’ but we also embrace our traditional wear in a modern fashion. Although there is a statement I agree with especially in today's world, “ White Privilege, like any social phenomenon, is complex. In a White Supremacist culture, all White people have privilege, whether or not they are overtly racist themselves.” I agreed with this statement because in the modern issues we face today, White people just cannot understand that even if they are not racist themselves they still have that privilege.

Indigenous Youth Counternarratives: Reclaiming the Gift

McCarty, T.L. Romero Eunice Mary, Zepeda Ofelia. Reclaiming the Gift: Indigenous Youth Counter- Narratives on Native Language Loss and Revitalization. University of Nebraska Press. The American Indian Quarterly, Volume 30, Number 1&2, Winter/Spring 2006, pp. 28-48.- Article. Accessed August 21, 2020.

In the article “Reclaiming the Gift,” it gives us the perspective from youth on the topic of language loss and identity. I noticed that the meaning of language importance was different in location, but the opinions taken from adults and youth conveyed the same message but there is just a lack of communication. The community from Beautiful Mountain think that language is very important but it starts with the family because they’re the ones who teach their child from the minute they were born. However the youth had a different perspective that the reason for language loss is because there is a feeling of shame, there is constant judgement from both natives and non-natives. Also taking into account the schools, there is this lack of compassion as if the teachers don't care about the youth which is why there is this choice to not speak it. However there is this opposite opinion from the elders where the youth just don’t seem like they care. The difference in opinion also depended on location because the youth in small navajo communities seemed more passionate about reviving the language compared to the youth in Gallup where he seemed to not care.
What hit home about this article was the fact that there is youth who just don’t care about the language, that to me is painful because I can’t imagine how much that choice pains their ancestors. As a youth who has grown up in a small Navajo community I can say that even though we are a small community we still try to teach our kids Navajo. However like the article there is also this shame of being Navajo and refusing to talk in Navajo, I myself have experienced this. During my middle school years I went through this phase of refusing my identity as Navajo because I associated us with the negative. But as a kid I spoke Navajo all the time because it was my primary language-my first language. Now that I am older, I look back on my years in school and I just feel stripped of my culture and language, how dare they take away my identity. Nowadays, I just feel like a nobody like I am nothing. I can’t speak Navajo fluently and therefore I feel like my identity, my ancestors, everything are just forgotten.

Indigenous Continuance

Ortiz J. Simon. Indigenous Continuance: Collaboration and Syncretism. University of Nebraska Press. The American Indian Quarterly, Volume 35, Number 3, Summer 2011, pp. 285-293. Article. Accessed August 21, 2020.

In the article taken from a conference given by Simon J. Ortiz, he discusses the effects of colonialism primarily the English language being a colonizer. Stating that it is a language used in Native Nations now, this is the language used in order to communicate or convey a message to non natives. Simon also took into account the effects of the English language on the identity of Native people, as he describes it we often feel “Americanized” which prevents some of us to refuse our Native identities. Adding on to feeling Americanized, we also have the feeling of being imposters, like we are fake because we primarily use the English language in our daily lives. Although there was a concept that I found interesting in moving forward which was we need to agree with ourselves that we are colonized in order to decolonize ourselves. There has to be this acceptance that our culture and language are colonized because we have adopted colonialism into it. Bringing up ancestors, our ancestors have been stripped of their knowledge in order to adapt to the modern world in order for the future generations to live in a sustained world. In the end there is a mention that as we continue to speak the language along with English there are changes being made and we should remain mindful of that.
The interpretations I got from this reading were pretty much agreeable, I agreed with everything Coriz said. The section in which I liked was, “Many questions, as I said, like they have asked. For example, several years ago my son, Raho, who’s educated as a lawyer, asked me the meaning of the annual traditional ceremonial visitation by Shiwana Kahtzina, who came to the Acoma people for four days. But before I said anything, Raho remarked that he didn’t want me to reply in the American anthro lingo that is too commonly used to explain Indigenous cultural knowledge.” I strongly liked this because my dad explains to me the traditions and ceremonies in Navajo. I have witnessed numerous times where it is explained in English which I view as disrespectful.

American Indian Language and Culture Revitalization

Reyhner, Jon Allan. “American Indian Language and Culture Revitalization.” Education and Language Restoration, Revised Edition, Facts On File, 2019. American Indian History, online.infobase.com/Auth/Index?aid=18626&itemid=WE43&articleId=185140. Accessed 7 Oct. 2020.

In Allen Jon Reyhner’s article, based on how children did then and now when the original native language is utilized in tribal schools. Differences between children learning in a colonized environment where English is used and in a setting where the Native language is used is hugely impacted. Students continuously exposed to the language would prevent language loss and increase their chance at reconnecting to their culture. In efforts to prevent language loss tribal schools began to teach in the native language until at least 5th grade when students would begin to be taught English.
Personally I can relate to this article as I lost my language, Navajo was my first language when I was younger. I grew up in a home where the Dine language is primarily used, however when I went to elementary school I lost my language. I blame school systems for contributing to the difficulties the youth and teenagers have to face of relearning the language. Navajo language is not an easy language to speak since everything is tonal. I believe tribal schools should teach students in the native languages in order to preserve it. I also believe that students will have a higher chance at succeeding because there is a demand for bilingual students.

Indian Language Policies and Education Goals

Reyhner, Jon Allan. “Indian Language Policies and Education Goals.” Education and Language Restoration, Revised Edition, Facts On File, 2019. American Indian History, online.infobase.com/Auth/Index?aid=18626&itemid=WE43&articleId=185137. Accessed 8 Oct. 2020.

In Allen Jon Reyhners article about it is discussed how important it is to keep the native languages alive especially with the former policies. Before 1990, when Bush revoked the English first act and passed the Native American Languages Act it was forbidden to use language publicly. In 1986 there had been a report titled Indians Nations at Risk: An Educational Strategy for Action released that had gotten some attention. In the report it stated how America had failed these people of properly educating them because there was a high number of dropouts. In 1992 there was a White House Conference held to discuss what can be done to improve the Native education system to better advocate them. It was then found that to better educate natives is to also implement culture.
This article brings mixed feelings especially on the topic of language, I think it's great that we are starting to bounce back. However I feel displeasure towards the fact that the government waited until the 1980’s to abolish a policy that prohibited Natives from speaking their language in schools. The number 1 contributing to the language loss are schools since that is where we spend most of our time, next would be a family factor. The community and nation need to come together to teach and encourage the youth.

Teaching Languages to Indian Children

Reyhner, Jon Allan. “Teaching Languages to Indian Children.” Education and Language Restoration, Revised Edition, Facts On File, 2019. American Indian History, online.infobase.com/Auth/Index?aid=18626&itemid=WE43&articleId=185146. Accessed 9 Nov. 2020.

Well in the article it is mainly about how other communities or nations are attempting to revitalize their language through basic learning methods. In the article, “Teaching Languages to Indian Children,” it goes through an overview of some of the methods used when it comes to learning a new language. Using examples from Boarding school experiences and schools based in Canada, there has been some debate as to how to teach the children safely in an ethnocentric community. The methods often used to teach children/youth in school settings are: Immersion, total physical response, the natural approach. It is also mentioned that there is a push in laws to make English the primary language because it is believed to be threatened by other languages, when in reality other languages are threatened by the English language.
My reaction to this article has made me think about the ways I approach language loss. This has made me expand my thoughts on the methods used to approach this and just how even the small factors can make an impact. These factors may have either a positive or a negative effect on the learner. It's important to be mindful to not discourage the person but instead encourage them to speak positively. I do however agree with the use of language in schools along with parental involvement like the school in Hawaii where parents are required to attend 8 hours per month.

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