"Sharing One Skin"

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

The article “Sharing One Skin” is about the native identity and the importance of land and culture. It talks about Identity and Responsibility in the Okanagan community and how they represent themselves. The word Okanagan comes from a whole understanding of what they are as human beings. In the article it states when we say the Okanagan word for ourselves, we are actually saying “the ones who are dream and land together.” There is another part of the word Okanagan that refers to the dream or to the dream state. That is their original identity.

The paragraph about The Four Capacities of Self has a deeper meaning to the Okanagan people. They speak of themselves as individual beings within their bodies. The four main capacities are physical self, emotional self, the thinking intellectual self, and the spiritual self. The four selves have equal importance in the way they function within and experience all things.

Native American Identity

Perry G. Horse (Kiowa). “Native American Identity”, Native American higher education issues. NEW DIRECTIONS FOR STUDENTS SERVICES, no. 109, Spring 2005. Pp 61-68

The article Native American Identity is about how Native Americans are losing their identity and how they are turning more towards to white man lifestyle. They are still the original Native people of North America. That realization, that consciousness, is where Native American identity begins. Native American people inherit an innate sensibility about the world that originated far back in their ancestral past. In the article it states “Native American identity is multifaceted.”

American Indians are struggling to maintain their own identity and the pressures of adapting to living the white dominated society. Also colonialism was a powerful thing that affected the American Indian cultures in many ways. Cultural change was a big thing for Native Americans because before they were forced to learn the white man's way of life and their beliefs.

Language Keepers: The Power of Revitalizing Endangered Languages

Emergence Magazine. “Language Keepers: The Power of Revitalizing Endangered Languages.” Literary Hub, 22 Oct. 2020, https://lithub.com/the-power-of-revitalizing-endangered-languages/

The article “Language Keepers: The Power of Revitalizing Endangered Languages'' is about many Indigenous communities around the world who are suffering from language loss. In the article it states, “There is no country immune from the impact of language loss.” It was estimated that 40 percent of the world’s 7,000 languages are currently in danger of losing the language for good. According to UNESCO, every two weeks, a language is lost with the passing of its last speaker. In between the years 1950 and 2010, 230 languages have disappeared. At this current rate of language loss across the world, it was predicted that up to 90 percent of the world’s existing languages will disappear within the next 100 years. But the Maori people in New Zealand witnessed a steady decline in the number of speakers of their native language and launched a major revitalization effort. After New Zealand started the major revitalization effort to keep their language alive, many other Indigenous communities are learning from the successes of the Maori people.

This information about other communities trying to revitalize their native language gives me hope that we can do the same and succeed over time. Revitalization has proved to be as dynamic as the communities who undertake it. Learning from other communities is a big part of the revitalization of the native languages.

Senate Passes Esther Martinez Native Languages Preservation

Bidney, Beverly. “Senate Passes Esther Martinez Native Languages Preservation Act.” Seminole Tribune, 29 Dec. 2017

The article “Senate Passes Esther Martinez Native Languages Preservation Act” is about the Esther Martinez Native Languages Preservation Act, which supports Native American language immersion programs. The act was signed into law in 2006 but it requires authorization by Congress every six years. The Senate passed the bill on November 29th and sent it to the House of Representatives for a vote. But once both houses approve it, the Act will be in place until 2023. Marcus Briggs-Cloud, who runs the Creek Language enrichment program lobbied the bill in 2006 and in 2011 on behalf of the National Alliance to Save Native Languages and Cultural Survival. The Creek Language enrichment opened in 2015 with 10 non-verbal babies who learned the language through everyday conversation with teachers, elders, and each other. Now there are 13 in the program today and they all speak the language fluently for their age. The whole overall goal of the program was to revitalize the language and create fluent speakers. The parents are also required to participate in the program and attend a weekly adult language class, use words and commands at home and take their child to see an elder speaker once a week.

It's nice to read about other communities revitalizing their native language and getting their children to speak the language fluently at a very young age. “All you have to do is speak and speak to the children and they will catch on”. This quote sticks out to me because my family always tells us that the only way to learn is if you speak and hear the language yourself.

Pueblo Voices: Language

“Pueblo Voices: Language.” Youtube, uploaded by Crow Canyon Archaeological Center, 22 January 2015, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlquWhdDlxQ

In this video “Pueblo Voices: Language” Cultural Consultant Tessie Naranjo talks about the 6 different languages. The 6 different languages are Hopi, Zuni, Keres, Tiwa, Towa, and Tewa. Leigh Kuwanwisiwma from Hopi Third Mesa talked about the importance of language in native communities and how language ties into everything we do as native people. Scott Ortman is an archaeologist and he talked about the scientific standpoint of native language and how we developed the language overtime.

This video has so much meaning to it. Many native people are very concerned about their own native language because it is slowly disappearing and we may lose everything once the language is gone. Every native community is trying their best to keep their language going and have the younger generations speak the language so they can pass it on.

American Indian Religious Freedom Act of 1978

Emergence Magazine. “Language Keepers: The Power of Revitalizing Endangered Languages.” Literary Hub, 22 Oct. 2020, https://lithub.com/the-power-of-revitalizing-endangered-languages/

On July 27, 1978, Congress passed the American Indian Religious Freedom Act of 1978. The act protects the rights of Native American people to practice their religions and requires federal agencies to consult with the tribes to review policies and procedures that may affect the tribal religious practices. Native people were expected to adopt christianity and cease practicing their traditional religious beliefs. Indian agents prohibited the practice of traditional ceremonies and dances and encouraged conversion to the Christian faith. The Indian agents who promulgated Christianity were violating the U.S. Constitution's requirement of separation of church and state does not appear to have raised any concerns among policymakers.

Boarding Schools in the 1870s

Wishart J, David. “Encyclopedia of the Great Plains: Indian Boarding Schools.” Plains Humanities, http://plainshumanities.unl.edu/encyclopedia/doc/egp.edu.019.

Boarding schools first appeared on reservations in 1877, but, beginning in 1879, policy makers who were seeking higher potential for assimilation channeled their efforts into building them off the reservations. By 1900 officials had reversed their decision, disturbed by the high costs associated with these schools, and until 1923, they renewed support for on-reservation boarding and day schools. The education was initially left to the missionaries and the philanthropists, who, with the support of church denominations and the government's "civilization" fund, established schools along with missions among Plains Indians during the 1830s. Mission schools remained an important component of Indian education and assimilation policy throughout the century, though they declined in importance after 1873, when direct federal financial support was removed. In 1870 Congress initiated an annual appropriation of $100,000 for Indian education. The bulk of the money went to establishing day schools on or near Indian villages and later on reservations. By 1870 48 day schools were in operation, and the number had risen to 147 by 1900 and the majority were on reservations in the Great Plains.

Revitalizing Indigenous Languages in Homogenizing Times

McCarthy, Teresa. “Revitalizing Indigenous Languages in Homogenizing Times”. Comparative Education. May 2003. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228956465_Revitalizing_Indigenous_Languages_in_Homogenizing_Times

The article “Revitalizing Indigenous Languages in Homogenizing Times” is about how different communities are facing language loss and the different ways they are trying to revitalize the language in their community. In Hawaii they have the most drastic change in success in how they revitalized their language. In Hawaii they have immersion preschools to strengthen the language for the children. The children interact with fluent speakers in their community and learn from them. In the Navajo Nation more than half of the children in kindergarten do not speak the language and the numbers are declining over the years. They also created a school for the children to learn to speak and learn their language. They teach them the subjects including math, reading, and writing in the language to strengthen the language for the children.

Mobile Learning as a Tool for Indigenous Language Revitalization and Sustainability in Canada: Framing the Challenge

Koole, Marguerite. “Mobile Learning as a Tool for Indigenous Language Revitalization and Sustainability in Canada: Framing the Challenge”. January 2020. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Marguerite-Koole/publication/338308319_Mobile_Learning_as_a_Tool_for_Indigenous_Language_Revitalization_and_Sustainability_in_Canada_Framing_the_Challenge/links/5e18f58492851c8364c2de6d/Mobile-Learning-as-a-Tool-for-Indigenous-Language-Revitalization-and-Sustainability-in-Canada-Framing-the-Challenge.pdf

The article “Mobile Learning as a Tool for Indigenous Language Revitalization and Sustainability in Canada: Framing the Challenge” is about how Canada is incorporating technology to try to revitalize their native language. They are using mobile learning to strengthen their language and also to increase the amount of people that speak the language. In some areas of Canada in the Native communities there is limited internet access, so it is hard to try to expand the mobile learning to the different areas of Canada. Some of the elders in the communities questioned this method of trying to revitalize the language because they are concerned about how the ceremonies and the different traditions are going to be affected by mobile learning through technology.