Preserve Your Culture: Tradition and Culture Loss From a Loss Family Member.
By: Zachary Tafoya
Jemez Pueblo and Isleta Pueblo
By: Zachary Tafoya
Jemez Pueblo and Isleta Pueblo
Pueblo of Jemez, https://www.jemezpueblo.org/. Accessed 22 November 2024.
“Pueblo of Isleta Flag.” Infobase, Facts On File. American Indian History, online.infobase.com/Auth/Index?aid=18626&itemid=WE43&iid=244849. Accessed 24 Sept. 2024.
Personal Photo, Me, 2024
Armstrong, Jeanette. “Sharing One Skin: The Okanagan Community,” in Jerry Mander and Edward Goldsmith (eds), The Case Against the Global Economy. San Francisco, CA, Sierra Club Books, 1996. Pp 460-470.
In the article, ¨Sharing One Skin¨ by Jeanetter Armstrong, she states her tradition and culture, the Okanagan community and how she explains the four selves of Okanagan people. She observes the differences between the Okanagan views and practices. She talks about how the language is important, they think of their language as the language of the land. ¨We say that we as people stay connected to each other, our land, and all things by our hearts.¨
In this story it's about a kid, Suina from Cochiti Pueblo. He lived with his grandmother and was taught the ways of his tradition and culture. He and his grandma knew he would grow up and attain the status of a man in the village and take on the responsibilities. He thinks he's gonna go down a different path once he starts going to school. At the age of six is when he attends a school in Cochiti and it's a whole new experience for him. The teacher wasn't native and was mean. As he got older he attended BIA and that was a whole new experience being away from home and not really seeing his family, ¨Adjusting to leaving home and the village was tough enough. It seemed the older I got, the further I got from they ways I was so much part of.¨
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Memories and stories are connected to our land as described by B. Toastie in the article, ¨How place names impact the way we see landscape.¨ This article talks about how the lands and sacred lands are connected to stories and the memories. It says that the landscape has names and the stories behind it and how it defines the way we connect to the landscapes. It's a tragic loss when we lose that land. ¨It always becomes so sad when those places are destroyed, like for a dam or a rail road.¨ It also talks about sacred sites and how it holds a mythical layer of significance.
(“Three Lakota Boys, Carlisle Indian Industrial School, CA 1900.” Indian Country Today)
Boarding School Era-1870´s:
During this time, it was a really hard time for us as Native Americans especially for the children.
This is when the government took children away from their families and communities and put them in boarding schools so they could live like regular citizens, so called ¨kill the indian, save the man.¨
They were stripped away from their traditional clothes, their hair was cut short and were forced to speak english.
They got in trouble when they would speak their language.
The Indian Removal Act of 1830 | Fort King Heritage
Foundation | Ocala, FL, 4 January 2023,
https://ftking.org/the-indian-removal-act-of-1830/. Accessed 10
October 2024.
Indian Removal Act-1830
During the act President Jackson signed a law on May 28, 1830. A law to obtain Indian land from east to the Mississippi.
This ended up being a forceful removal of the easter tribes from their lands and pushing them away 5,034 miles away.
Through the journey away from the lands it was filled with neglect, abuse causing 4,000 Native to die
Into the Current State of the Issue, The article I researched was Beyond Words: The Power of Native Languages, it states how Native American languages are essential to the success of tribal ways of life. It is a dangerous risk when no one is concerned or sustained intervention it could possibly go extinct. The 2024 NCAI Convention is about where Representatives from many tribal communities discuss the changes and strategies of language prevention. The NCAI had called upon the Federal Government to increase funding for tribes for language recovery and immersion programs. They had also addressed a resolution calling for a development/funding in language programs in pre schools, elementary schools, secondary schools. The life in Native Languages is something special, “when a language fades away, it is not only words that are lost, but an entire way of life and understanding of the world.”
The connection between me and this article is close because personally culture and language loss is a big thing and they are right, if no one is concerned about it, it could potentially go extinct if we are not careful. With the NCAI Convention I feel like we should have something like that with the 19 Pueblos to discuss challenges and strategies to overcome culture and language loss.
This article, Celebrating Native Cultures Through Words: Storytelling and Oral Traditions states three important traditions we have as Indigenous people: Storytelling, Oral Traditions, Language Loss. With Indigenous storytelling our people have a strong telling about stories of our past, traditions and history. With storytelling it passes histories, stories, religious rites, and memories from one generation to the next through spoken word. Oral Traditions are a form of shared history in specific Native communities, they also connect past, present, future and tightens tribal and family bonds. With Language Loss it is a major thing for us a Native people who don't want to go through that. Many elders believe if the language is lost, the people will be lost.
This deeply connects to me because in my community storytelling, oral traditions are a big thing to me, storytelling has been a eye-opening to my pueblos traditions back then and with oral traditions I learn alot about about my pueblos history throughout the time when technology wasn't around and it's been an interesting road to go down knowing it's somewhat different from now and then.
This article relates to my topic of tradition and culture preservation. It all starts when the Cherokee Nation's principal chief, Joe Bryd, found a seat on a shuttle going to Tulsa Airport and heard the Cherokee Youth Choir singing in his endangered native tongue on the radio. This is where the article states that there are only 2,000 native speakers and the majority of them are 50 and older, and the youngest is 35 so that means language is at potential extinction when the older members die. But according to the Cultural Preservation Act was signed in 1991 which they had founded an immersion school called Tsalagi Tsunadeloquasdi in 2001 in Tahlequah with only 26 students but today it has increased to nearly 100 K-6 grade students and it is the first Ooklahoma public school for the Cherokee language immersion.
Traditional Native Healing: An Integral Part of Community and Cultural Revitalization
2This article I focused on two main subjects which is Cultural and Community Revitalization, Traditiona Language Development. With Cultural/Community Revitalization it had talked about a lot of interseting key points about it but what stood out was that this phrase is recognized as having different levels of meaning depending on thr person or community. "It is really important for us to look into our history and to envision how this would have naturally evolved into today's society" In Traditional Language Development it had stated that this topic, that once a language had been replaced the culture itself will become exceedingly difficult.
Cultural Appropriation in Mexico: Preserving Heritage and Navigating Boundaries
Cultural Appropriation can happen between us as Native Americans but it can also happen in other countris such as Mexico. Mexico's culture is a rich and diverse and its cultural heritage is appropriated by people from outside of their country. For example, people from outside their country can just eaily take Indigenous designs from them without giving any credit to the original creator. An understanding of cultural appropriation would refer to the adoption or the use of material iteams from one culture by members of another culture or community. It can also be disrespectful.
I am interested in this topic because I want to rebuild my culture in Isleta Pueblo because it is very important to know who you are and where you come from, and to know about your culture and language. My personal connection to this is my biological dad is from Isleta and never got to learn the culture through him, and my uncle wanted for me to be invested into it but after the passing of my dad, grandma, and cousin I didn't really feel connected and was pushing away that part of me but it didn't feel right and it wasn't right.
We went on a trip to Oklahoma to watch Abrielle´s sister, Abrianna who plays college softball and is a full-time college student in Kansas. She has been away from her home, Cochiti Pueblo, so we brought pieces of NM to her such as home baked goods, our support and giving her love from their surrounding family.