SAVING NATIVE AMERICAN LANGUAGES
A Statement from Ryan Wilson, President
Native languages are in great peril! If you believe, as I do, that preserving Native languages is critical to Native cultural identity and survival, as well as to the ultimate success of our students in mainstream society, then you know that it is time to move beyond half-measures.
Despite great efforts by a number of tribes and institutions to stem the catastrophic decline of Native languages in America, that decline continues at a steep rate. There are about 175 Native languages still spoken in the United States, but scholars believe that 89 percent of these – 155 languages – are “moribund,” meaning that they are spoken only be adults who are no longer passing the language actively down to the next generation.
Some urge that we abandon our languages in the name of “success” as defined by non-Indians. In 1989, in the Journal of American Indian Education, one scholar argued that instruction must be provided in English, that “mastery with the language of the dominant culture is imperative!” and that “the language of their [Native] education must be English; no other language will suffice.” Enough of this nonsense! Enough of telling us that our culture is a prescription for failure. Enough of that Federal boarding school philosophy that the government “should kill the Indian . . . and save the man.” Enough of this “English Only” message which for native peoples is tantamount to cultural suicide!
Immersion Schools Yield Dramatically Positive Results. It has become evident to Native educators that immersion schools achieve two dramatic results: first, they are successful at teaching fluency in Native languages to the next generation, which means that these languages will survive; and second, the Native students who go through an immersion program perform substantially better academically, including on national tests, than Native students who have not gone through such a program.
A Call to the 1,000th Generation of Tribal Leadership. There have been 1,000 generations of tribal leadership on Turtle Island (the North American continent). Nonetheless, the responsibility for saving the Native languages of America is born by only one generation – this one. If the languages die it will be because we chose not to act, or chose only to act half-heartedly. We will have failed our children, our elders and our ancestors.
Join the Alliance. It is time to bring to bear the full political, cultural, spiritual and economic power of Native America to reclaim and revitalize our languages. I ask that you join the Alliance to Save the Native Languages of America. This initiative will have as its goal the rallying of resources on all levels (Tribal, Federal, State, community and familial) to the great undertaking of preserving Native languages as a vital part of contemporary Native society, and not just as recordings on a shelf.
To succeed the Alliance will have to work on many fronts. In 2007, the Alliance will focus on strengthening Federal laws and funding. But that alone is not enough. The Alliance needs to encourage more initiatives in the academic community. But that too is not enough. At the end of the day, we must support a culture of communication, where Native languages are spoken in Native homes to Native kids. Only by working on all these fronts, will we succeed.
Ultimate success will not be because of the Federal government, but securing Federal support is very important. In the Native American Language Act, Congress stated that “the status of the cultures and languages of Native Americans is unique and the United States has the responsibility to act together with Native Americans to ensure the survival of these unique cultures and languages.” The Federal obligation is moral and legal. For years, the Federal government sought to destroy our languages. . . and then our languages came to the defense of the United States in World War II, with the enormous contributions of the Navajo codetalkers, as well as codetalkers from many other tribes, including the Comanches, Choctaws, Kiowas, Winnebagos, Seminoles, Hopis, and Cherokees. And yet today the Federal government only provides a small amount to fund Native language efforts.
Can we succeed! YES! There is plenty of research on how to revitalize a language and plenty of successful examples, including Native examples such as the Maori in New Zealand and the Native Hawaiians, as well as non-Native examples such as the restoration of Hebrew in Israel, Catalan in Catalonia and French in Quebec.
I regret that this letter is written to you in English. However, we all understand the practical necessity of fluency in the language of the mainstream society, but that does not diminish the spiritual and cultural necessity of saving our native tongues as a vital part of a dynamic contemporary Native culture. With the extraordinary results coming out of the immersion school experience, Native communities can move from despair and resignation over the loss of their languages, to hope and belief that their languages can be restored and that their survival as a unique people, as well as contributing members of the larger American society, can be assured.
I ask you to join this great enterprise with all your heart, mind and soul. Thank you.
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