Post by Okwes on Jul 31, 2006 15:10:02 GMT -5
Fighting to save indigenous languages
Indian educators spearhead effort to amend landmark law
Native American Times 7/27/2006
As gaming helps Indian tribes flex their economic muscles, many Native leaders are looking to the past, placing renewed emphasis on saving traditional languages.
They are driven by grim statistics showing an estimated 500 distinct Native languages were spoken in North America prior to European contact.
Fewer than 100 have survived and only about 20 different languages are spoken among Native children today.
One official leading the charge to preserve this integral aspect of Indian culture is Ryan Wilson, the Oglala Lakota head of the National Indian Education Association. Wilson and two other prominent Native leaders, former president of the National Congress of American Indians Tex Hall and United Tribes Technical College David Gipp, have been encouraging Congress to pass amendments to the Native American Languages Act.
"The goal is to provide a strong early foundation in the languages," said Wilson. "We know from the few immersion programs in existence now that youngsters acquire the language rapidly and retain it later on."
"If we don't act now, these languages will go away," said Hall, who is also the chairman of the North Dakota-based Mandan-Hidatsa-Arikara Nation, a tribe that requires native language training in the early grades.
Originally passed in 1990 at the behest of Hawaii Senator Daniel Inouye, the languages act states in part: "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."
Two bills that would amend the act call for the creation of a competitive grant program in the Department of Education to support Native American language immersion programs in Native communities. The grants would create pilot programs for "language nests" and "language survival schools."
The trio of Wilson, Hall and Gipp also assert that Indian compliance with the No Left Behind Act would benefit by passing the two bills.
A 2004 executive order signed by President Bush promised assistance for American Indian students in meeting the academic standards of the No Child Left Behind Act "in a manner consistent with tribal traditions, languages and cultures."
"Saving the language and saving Indian people is what's at the heart of this," said Gipp. "The research is beginning to show that effectively taught language programs enhance the overall academic strength of students. And that plays directly into the goals of No Child Left Behind."
Another Senator from Hawaii, Daniel K. Akaka, has sponsored the amendments. Akaka recently addressed the National Indian Education Association's Native Languages Legislative Summit, taking the time to recognize two graduates of Nawahiokalaniopuu Hawaiian immersion school in Keaau, Hawaii.
"Two fine examples are here - Ku`uwehi Hiraishi who recently graduated from Seattle University and Holo Ho`opai who is a senior at Standford University," he said. "These students are steeped in not only the language, traditions, and knowledge of their ancestors, but are also empowered and equipped with the tools to combat contemporary challenges that confront our communities."
www.nativetimes.com/index.asp?action=displayarticle&article_id=8041
Indian educators spearhead effort to amend landmark law
Native American Times 7/27/2006
As gaming helps Indian tribes flex their economic muscles, many Native leaders are looking to the past, placing renewed emphasis on saving traditional languages.
They are driven by grim statistics showing an estimated 500 distinct Native languages were spoken in North America prior to European contact.
Fewer than 100 have survived and only about 20 different languages are spoken among Native children today.
One official leading the charge to preserve this integral aspect of Indian culture is Ryan Wilson, the Oglala Lakota head of the National Indian Education Association. Wilson and two other prominent Native leaders, former president of the National Congress of American Indians Tex Hall and United Tribes Technical College David Gipp, have been encouraging Congress to pass amendments to the Native American Languages Act.
"The goal is to provide a strong early foundation in the languages," said Wilson. "We know from the few immersion programs in existence now that youngsters acquire the language rapidly and retain it later on."
"If we don't act now, these languages will go away," said Hall, who is also the chairman of the North Dakota-based Mandan-Hidatsa-Arikara Nation, a tribe that requires native language training in the early grades.
Originally passed in 1990 at the behest of Hawaii Senator Daniel Inouye, the languages act states in part: "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."
Two bills that would amend the act call for the creation of a competitive grant program in the Department of Education to support Native American language immersion programs in Native communities. The grants would create pilot programs for "language nests" and "language survival schools."
The trio of Wilson, Hall and Gipp also assert that Indian compliance with the No Left Behind Act would benefit by passing the two bills.
A 2004 executive order signed by President Bush promised assistance for American Indian students in meeting the academic standards of the No Child Left Behind Act "in a manner consistent with tribal traditions, languages and cultures."
"Saving the language and saving Indian people is what's at the heart of this," said Gipp. "The research is beginning to show that effectively taught language programs enhance the overall academic strength of students. And that plays directly into the goals of No Child Left Behind."
Another Senator from Hawaii, Daniel K. Akaka, has sponsored the amendments. Akaka recently addressed the National Indian Education Association's Native Languages Legislative Summit, taking the time to recognize two graduates of Nawahiokalaniopuu Hawaiian immersion school in Keaau, Hawaii.
"Two fine examples are here - Ku`uwehi Hiraishi who recently graduated from Seattle University and Holo Ho`opai who is a senior at Standford University," he said. "These students are steeped in not only the language, traditions, and knowledge of their ancestors, but are also empowered and equipped with the tools to combat contemporary challenges that confront our communities."
www.nativetimes.com/index.asp?action=displayarticle&article_id=8041