Post by blackcrowheart on May 17, 2007 13:37:34 GMT -5
American Indians oppose English-only legislation
By TIM TALLEY - Associated Press
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Legislation declaring English as Oklahoma's official
language was narrowly approved by a House committee Wednesday over the
objections of American Indians who said the bill demeans their native
languages and
cultures.
The General Government and Transportation Committee voted 9-7 to send the
measure to the House floor after Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chad Smith
said lawmakers were "branding Oklahoma with the badge of intolerance.s
"We want to grow this state," Smith said of the Oklahoma-based Cherokee
tribe that is among 37 federally recognized Indian tribes that call Oklahoma
home. "This bill just tells us we don't want to do that."
The bill's author, Rep. George Faught, R-Muskogee, told reporters following
the vote the intent of the bill is to encourage Latino immigrants to learn
English. Faught said the bill could eventually end bilingual driver's
license
tests and other state government documents.
"It's difficult for someone to participate in society if they can't
communicate,communicate,<W
But the immigration issue was never raised during debate on the bill.
Instead, American Indian members of the committee and others raised
objections over
the message the bill would send to tribes relocated from their native lands
to Oklahoma when it was known as Indian Territory more than 100 years ago.
"I think it's a slap in the face to Native Americans," said Rep. Jerry
McPeak, D-Warner, a member of the Creek tribe.
"We all speak English. But we all speak our tribal tongue," said Rep. Lisa
Billy, R-Purcell, who is affiliated with the Choctaw and Chickasaw tribes.
Billy said many Indians in rural areas were not exposed to English when
Oklahoma became a state in 1907.
"English was not able to be spoken," she said. Billy said her grandfather
spoke the Cherokee, Osage and Chickasaw languages and that other ancestors
fought with American armed forces in World War I as code talkers.
"To say the English language supersedes all other languages that were here
before is a fallacy," said Rep. Mike Brown, D-Fort Gibson.
Smith said it's ironic the bill was proposed in the same state Capitol
building where a portrait of the Cherokee scholar Sequoyah, developer of the
written Cherokee language, hangs prominently in the rotunda.
Sequoyah did not speak English, Smith said.
"We are going to be isolationists,"We are go
The committee approved an amendment by Rep. Eric Proctor, D-Tulsa, that
removed a line that declared the English language had been a common thread
that
bound individuals "throughout the history of Oklahoma and the United States."
"It is an incorrect statement," said Proctor, a teacher who said he taught
Oklahoma history for three years. "Throughout the history of Oklahoma, we
have
not been bound by a common language."
Supporters said the bill was not intended to diminish American Indian
languages and cultures.
"People want to be a unified country, a unified state," Faught said.
By TIM TALLEY - Associated Press
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Legislation declaring English as Oklahoma's official
language was narrowly approved by a House committee Wednesday over the
objections of American Indians who said the bill demeans their native
languages and
cultures.
The General Government and Transportation Committee voted 9-7 to send the
measure to the House floor after Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chad Smith
said lawmakers were "branding Oklahoma with the badge of intolerance.s
"We want to grow this state," Smith said of the Oklahoma-based Cherokee
tribe that is among 37 federally recognized Indian tribes that call Oklahoma
home. "This bill just tells us we don't want to do that."
The bill's author, Rep. George Faught, R-Muskogee, told reporters following
the vote the intent of the bill is to encourage Latino immigrants to learn
English. Faught said the bill could eventually end bilingual driver's
license
tests and other state government documents.
"It's difficult for someone to participate in society if they can't
communicate,communicate,<W
But the immigration issue was never raised during debate on the bill.
Instead, American Indian members of the committee and others raised
objections over
the message the bill would send to tribes relocated from their native lands
to Oklahoma when it was known as Indian Territory more than 100 years ago.
"I think it's a slap in the face to Native Americans," said Rep. Jerry
McPeak, D-Warner, a member of the Creek tribe.
"We all speak English. But we all speak our tribal tongue," said Rep. Lisa
Billy, R-Purcell, who is affiliated with the Choctaw and Chickasaw tribes.
Billy said many Indians in rural areas were not exposed to English when
Oklahoma became a state in 1907.
"English was not able to be spoken," she said. Billy said her grandfather
spoke the Cherokee, Osage and Chickasaw languages and that other ancestors
fought with American armed forces in World War I as code talkers.
"To say the English language supersedes all other languages that were here
before is a fallacy," said Rep. Mike Brown, D-Fort Gibson.
Smith said it's ironic the bill was proposed in the same state Capitol
building where a portrait of the Cherokee scholar Sequoyah, developer of the
written Cherokee language, hangs prominently in the rotunda.
Sequoyah did not speak English, Smith said.
"We are going to be isolationists,"We are go
The committee approved an amendment by Rep. Eric Proctor, D-Tulsa, that
removed a line that declared the English language had been a common thread
that
bound individuals "throughout the history of Oklahoma and the United States."
"It is an incorrect statement," said Proctor, a teacher who said he taught
Oklahoma history for three years. "Throughout the history of Oklahoma, we
have
not been bound by a common language."
Supporters said the bill was not intended to diminish American Indian
languages and cultures.
"People want to be a unified country, a unified state," Faught said.