By: Carolyn Gonzales
Tavish Brown grew up in Naschitti, N.M., located between Gallup and Shiprock on the Navajo reservation. While still a student at Newcomb High School, where he graduated in 2005, Brown knew what he wanted to do: study the Navajo language. Brown is the UNM undergraduate recipient of the 2007 Robert W. Young Scholarship, which supports students studying Native American linguistics.
“Barbara Howard was my high school Navajo teacher. She told me that she was getting old and that I should learn Navajo and come back and take her spot,” Brown recalled. Howard also encouraged Brown to form a Navajo dance group at the school, which he did. Called T’iis Nideesghizh Bitsoόké, or “Grandchildren of Newcomb,” the group was influenced by the Dinétah Navajo Dancers; Brown is now one of their performers.
Brown speaks highly of the Navajo language program at UNM. “Ms. [Roseann] Willink helps us with difficult words, tongue twister words. She breaks them down, explains their history. She also explains the difference between some Navajo words used in New Mexico and those used by Navajos in Arizona,” he said.
Willink also helps her students to learn and understand old Navajo words that are not in use today, Brown said. He noted that the Navajo equivalent of the phrase, “let’s go,” has evolved from “tsotti’” to “tį́.”
“People who are fluent notice that others speak in a chopped up or abbreviated form. Only medicine men still speak the language in its full form,” Brown said.
Brown said that his parents speak Navajo, as does his older sister Tamara, a student at Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. His younger sister, Kendra, at Newcomb, doesn’t have the language fluency either. Brown said that mispronouncing words in Navajo can be embarrassing because they can be “bad words.”
The beauty of learning Navajo at UNM, he said, is that he is learning it while also learning more about culture and tradition. “Words are tied into ceremony. You can’t understand the words without their cultural context,” he said.
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Wednesday, January 23, 2008
January 23, 1919: Native American Code Talkers are put into service by the U.S. Army.
As long as he could remember, Philip Johnston had loved the Navajo culture and language. By age five, he had learned the tribal language well enough to serve as a translator for his missionary parents. By age nine, when most boys his age were riding bikes and trading baseball cards, he had served as an interpreter for a Navajo delegation sent to Washington, DC, to lobby for Indian rights. He had no way of knowing it at the time, but his affinity for, and mastery of, the Navajo tongue would one day help to save the lives of countless United States Marines.
In time, Johnston would leave the American Southwest and the people he loved to serve in World War I. After the war, he would earn his civil engineering degree at the University of Southern California. December 7, 1941, found him hard at work as an engineer for the city of Los Angeles. At the time, Johnston was in his 50s and well beyond the grasp of his local draft board; however, his experiences on the battlefields of Europe in a earlier time motivated him to try to put into action a plan that he was sure could help the war effort.
Johnston’s hope was to help the Marine Corps protect their communications so well that every Marine who wore the uniform would be provided a huge advantage in combat. His idea revolved around a code. But, unlike many coding systems, this code was not dependent on a complicated machine or a series of numbers or ciphers. Rather, the heart of his proposal rested on the language of the Navajo Indians. He was convinced that, used properly, the Navajo dialect would provide unprecedented security to those who would need it most. All he needed was a chance to prove it.
Native American Code Talkers are put into service by the U.S. Army, January 23, 1919
For more information click here: http://www.nsa.gov/publications/publi00034.cfm
In time, Johnston would leave the American Southwest and the people he loved to serve in World War I. After the war, he would earn his civil engineering degree at the University of Southern California. December 7, 1941, found him hard at work as an engineer for the city of Los Angeles. At the time, Johnston was in his 50s and well beyond the grasp of his local draft board; however, his experiences on the battlefields of Europe in a earlier time motivated him to try to put into action a plan that he was sure could help the war effort.
Johnston’s hope was to help the Marine Corps protect their communications so well that every Marine who wore the uniform would be provided a huge advantage in combat. His idea revolved around a code. But, unlike many coding systems, this code was not dependent on a complicated machine or a series of numbers or ciphers. Rather, the heart of his proposal rested on the language of the Navajo Indians. He was convinced that, used properly, the Navajo dialect would provide unprecedented security to those who would need it most. All he needed was a chance to prove it.
Native American Code Talkers are put into service by the U.S. Army, January 23, 1919
For more information click here: http://www.nsa.gov/publications/publi00034.cfm
A Good Time to Remember Standing Bear
By: Kevin Abourezk
As the country honors the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. this week, I think it's a good time to remember a man many consider to be our country's first civil rights activist. He is widely known in Nebraska, but I would dare say few have heard of him beyond the state's borders.
He is Chief Standing Bear of the Ponca Tribe.
In January 1879, Standing Bear and 30 of his followers left Indian Territory in Oklahoma to return to their former lands in Nebraska. You see, as it had done to so many Native people, the U.S. government had forcibly moved the Poncas from their homes and sent them to Oklahoma two years earlier.
But Standing Bear and his followers preferred their homelands along the Niobrara River to the barren earth of Oklahoma. Then the chief's son died. But before Bear Shield died, he asked his father to bury him in the soil of his homeland.
Like any father, Standing Bear wanted to fulfill his son's dying wish. So on Jan. 2, 1879, he and 30 followers left for Nebraska. Two months later, they were arrested, and Standing Bear was put on trial.
The trial of Standing Bear lasted two days. Shortly after it ended, the chief offered this impassioned plea to the court in an effort to prove he was a human being and entitled to the same right to freedom as every human being: "That hand is not the color of yours, but if I pierce it, I shall feel pain. The blood that will flow from mine will be the same color as yours. I am a man. The same God made us both."
About two weeks later, federal Judge Elmer Dundy ruled that "an Indian (is) a person within the meaning of the law," entitled to the constitutional rights of U.S. citizens. The decision allowed the Ponca to return to their lands and freed Standing Bear.
Get the whole story here: http://www.reznetnews.org/blogs/red-clout/good-time-remember-standing-bear
As the country honors the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. this week, I think it's a good time to remember a man many consider to be our country's first civil rights activist. He is widely known in Nebraska, but I would dare say few have heard of him beyond the state's borders.
He is Chief Standing Bear of the Ponca Tribe.
In January 1879, Standing Bear and 30 of his followers left Indian Territory in Oklahoma to return to their former lands in Nebraska. You see, as it had done to so many Native people, the U.S. government had forcibly moved the Poncas from their homes and sent them to Oklahoma two years earlier.
But Standing Bear and his followers preferred their homelands along the Niobrara River to the barren earth of Oklahoma. Then the chief's son died. But before Bear Shield died, he asked his father to bury him in the soil of his homeland.
Like any father, Standing Bear wanted to fulfill his son's dying wish. So on Jan. 2, 1879, he and 30 followers left for Nebraska. Two months later, they were arrested, and Standing Bear was put on trial.
The trial of Standing Bear lasted two days. Shortly after it ended, the chief offered this impassioned plea to the court in an effort to prove he was a human being and entitled to the same right to freedom as every human being: "That hand is not the color of yours, but if I pierce it, I shall feel pain. The blood that will flow from mine will be the same color as yours. I am a man. The same God made us both."
About two weeks later, federal Judge Elmer Dundy ruled that "an Indian (is) a person within the meaning of the law," entitled to the constitutional rights of U.S. citizens. The decision allowed the Ponca to return to their lands and freed Standing Bear.
Get the whole story here: http://www.reznetnews.org/blogs/red-clout/good-time-remember-standing-bear
Monday, January 21, 2008
Grandmother Spider steals the Sun
A Cherokee Legend
Now, when Earth was brand new, there was much confusion, for there was darkness everywhere. All of Earth's Peoples kept bumping into each other, and were often hurt. They all cried out for light, that they might see.
Fox said that he knew of some people on the other side of the world who had plenty light. He said that it was nice and warm, but those people were too greedy to share it with anyone else. Possum said that he would steal Sun. "I have a beautiful, bushy tail," he said. "I can hide the Sun in all of that fur. Let me try."
So Possum went to the other side of the world and found the Sun. It was hanging up in a Tree and lighting up everything. Possum took a piece of the Sun and hid it in the fur of his tail. But Sun was so hot that it burned all of Possum's tail hairs off. To this day, Possum has a bare tail. The people discovered Possum and took the piece of the Sun back.
Buzzard said, "I will take the Sun myself. I will put it on my head, so that I can see where I am going with it." So he tried to take the Sun too. He flew to the other side of the world, and dived down to snare the Sun in his claws. But it was so hot that it burned all of Buzzard's feathers off of his head. To this day, Buzzard's head is bald and ugly. The people discovered Buzzard, and took the Sun back.
Then Grandmother Spider said, "Let me try."
First, she made a very thick clay pot, big enough to put the Sun in. Then, she spun a web which reached all the way to the other side of the world. She was so small and quiet that these people did not notice her at all. When she was ready, she quickly snatched up the Sun in her big clay pot, and hurried back home along her web. Now her side of the world had light, and warmth.
Everyone rejoiced at Grandmother Spider's gift.
Spider Woman brought the Sun to the Principal People, the Cherokee, but also the gift of fire. She also taught them to make pottery.
Now, when Earth was brand new, there was much confusion, for there was darkness everywhere. All of Earth's Peoples kept bumping into each other, and were often hurt. They all cried out for light, that they might see.
Fox said that he knew of some people on the other side of the world who had plenty light. He said that it was nice and warm, but those people were too greedy to share it with anyone else. Possum said that he would steal Sun. "I have a beautiful, bushy tail," he said. "I can hide the Sun in all of that fur. Let me try."
So Possum went to the other side of the world and found the Sun. It was hanging up in a Tree and lighting up everything. Possum took a piece of the Sun and hid it in the fur of his tail. But Sun was so hot that it burned all of Possum's tail hairs off. To this day, Possum has a bare tail. The people discovered Possum and took the piece of the Sun back.
Buzzard said, "I will take the Sun myself. I will put it on my head, so that I can see where I am going with it." So he tried to take the Sun too. He flew to the other side of the world, and dived down to snare the Sun in his claws. But it was so hot that it burned all of Buzzard's feathers off of his head. To this day, Buzzard's head is bald and ugly. The people discovered Buzzard, and took the Sun back.
Then Grandmother Spider said, "Let me try."
First, she made a very thick clay pot, big enough to put the Sun in. Then, she spun a web which reached all the way to the other side of the world. She was so small and quiet that these people did not notice her at all. When she was ready, she quickly snatched up the Sun in her big clay pot, and hurried back home along her web. Now her side of the world had light, and warmth.
Everyone rejoiced at Grandmother Spider's gift.
Spider Woman brought the Sun to the Principal People, the Cherokee, but also the gift of fire. She also taught them to make pottery.
Native American Stories
By: Joseph Paige
Native American stories have always been about much more than mere entertainment, and served as a way to transmit faith and culture from generation to generation. While certainly interesting and entertaining, there is always much for the listener to learn, whether that listener is a Native American child learning the proper way to interact with elders and other moral and cultural values, or an anthropologist seeking to better understand indigenous peoples.
As the Europeans seized control of the continent, often they expended a great deal of effort on converting the native peoples from their own faiths, and all too frequently the concept of conversion by the sword or other coercive means was used, making Native American stories essential to the preservation of indigenous culture. Preserved by oral traditions that reached back for generations, Native American stories were able to keep ancient ways of life alive, helping these traditions to survive the constant assault of the continued pressure from the Europeans and the changes they wrought.
However, not all Native American stories were about the past at first telling. Many took current events and placed them within a context that fit the Native American culture, presenting happenings from the indigenous perspective, rather than what became the prevailing European point of view. Native American stories served an important role in recording events and in passing news.
And, like many stories in many cultures, Native American stories also served as a means of instructing children in right behavior, presenting heroes and heroines modeling ideal behavior in often difficult circumstances. From Native American stories, children learned the values and customs of their culture, like children everywhere do through the stories they are told.
Native American stories offer a fascinating glimpse into a culture that endured great stresses and hardships, and still managed to survive, even to grow and blossom with the passing years. Serving as the guardians of faith and tradition, Native American stories have a special place not only in indigenous culture, but also in the American culture as a whole.
Native American stories have always been about much more than mere entertainment, and served as a way to transmit faith and culture from generation to generation. While certainly interesting and entertaining, there is always much for the listener to learn, whether that listener is a Native American child learning the proper way to interact with elders and other moral and cultural values, or an anthropologist seeking to better understand indigenous peoples.
As the Europeans seized control of the continent, often they expended a great deal of effort on converting the native peoples from their own faiths, and all too frequently the concept of conversion by the sword or other coercive means was used, making Native American stories essential to the preservation of indigenous culture. Preserved by oral traditions that reached back for generations, Native American stories were able to keep ancient ways of life alive, helping these traditions to survive the constant assault of the continued pressure from the Europeans and the changes they wrought.
However, not all Native American stories were about the past at first telling. Many took current events and placed them within a context that fit the Native American culture, presenting happenings from the indigenous perspective, rather than what became the prevailing European point of view. Native American stories served an important role in recording events and in passing news.
And, like many stories in many cultures, Native American stories also served as a means of instructing children in right behavior, presenting heroes and heroines modeling ideal behavior in often difficult circumstances. From Native American stories, children learned the values and customs of their culture, like children everywhere do through the stories they are told.
Native American stories offer a fascinating glimpse into a culture that endured great stresses and hardships, and still managed to survive, even to grow and blossom with the passing years. Serving as the guardians of faith and tradition, Native American stories have a special place not only in indigenous culture, but also in the American culture as a whole.
Ghost Village Relic
By: Rachel D'Oro
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) -- Four decades after it was abandoned, King Island holds an almost mystical pull for former inhabitants and their descendants, its crumbling homes still perched on stilts, clinging to the steep, rocky terrain.
Until recently, little else remained of the island, an Inupiat Eskimo village, except for traditions, memories and artifacts scattered at museums around the nation. Then came word from a stranger nearly 2,000 miles away who said she possessed an ancient mask a relative brought back from Alaska more than a century ago.
On the back of the relic was a faint inscription: "Taken from a medicine man's grave on King Island."
The woman from northwest Washington e-mailed Charlene Saclamana, tribal coordinator with the King Island Native Community based in Nome, a city 80 miles southeast of the tiny Bering Sea island where many of its residents relocated.
Marilyn Lewis said she wanted to return the wooden mask to its rightful owners. Two weeks later, she traveled to Alaska to deliver the artifact, which is now on display at the Carrie M. McLain Memorial Museum in Nome, named after the museum's late founder, a gold rush pioneer.
"It gives me and my family something tangible from our past. We've lost so much of the culture," said Saclamana, whose parents lived on King Island. "We were eager to have the mask back in our possession. We never had anything that well preserved from the island."
Read the whole story here: http://www.reznetnews.org/article/news/ghost-village-relic
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) -- Four decades after it was abandoned, King Island holds an almost mystical pull for former inhabitants and their descendants, its crumbling homes still perched on stilts, clinging to the steep, rocky terrain.
Until recently, little else remained of the island, an Inupiat Eskimo village, except for traditions, memories and artifacts scattered at museums around the nation. Then came word from a stranger nearly 2,000 miles away who said she possessed an ancient mask a relative brought back from Alaska more than a century ago.
On the back of the relic was a faint inscription: "Taken from a medicine man's grave on King Island."
The woman from northwest Washington e-mailed Charlene Saclamana, tribal coordinator with the King Island Native Community based in Nome, a city 80 miles southeast of the tiny Bering Sea island where many of its residents relocated.
Marilyn Lewis said she wanted to return the wooden mask to its rightful owners. Two weeks later, she traveled to Alaska to deliver the artifact, which is now on display at the Carrie M. McLain Memorial Museum in Nome, named after the museum's late founder, a gold rush pioneer.
"It gives me and my family something tangible from our past. We've lost so much of the culture," said Saclamana, whose parents lived on King Island. "We were eager to have the mask back in our possession. We never had anything that well preserved from the island."
Read the whole story here: http://www.reznetnews.org/article/news/ghost-village-relic
Remaining Oneida elders want language to live on
ONEIDA — She remembers speaking Oneida as a child, in the days when she could still use it to converse in living rooms and corner stores across the reservation. Almost a century later, Maria Hinton is running out of people to talk to.
"There is nobody to speak with," the 97-year-old great-grandmother says in exasperation. "I'm just walking around my house speaking to myself."
Unique for its whispered syllables, Oneida uses only 15 letters and three symbols to convey a daily life deeply rooted in nature. The words often evoke a moving image, relying on the senses to illustrate a moment. The word for bear clan, "oskle7wake," describes the glistening powder color of the animal's face.
Hinton is one of three elders left who speak this vivid tongue, surviving matriarchs from the last generation to communicate in Oneida. Most members of the Wisconsin tribe today know basic vocabulary but can't use it in conversations.
Want to know more? Click here: http://www.nativebiz.com/community/News,op=visit,nid=17590.html
"There is nobody to speak with," the 97-year-old great-grandmother says in exasperation. "I'm just walking around my house speaking to myself."
Unique for its whispered syllables, Oneida uses only 15 letters and three symbols to convey a daily life deeply rooted in nature. The words often evoke a moving image, relying on the senses to illustrate a moment. The word for bear clan, "oskle7wake," describes the glistening powder color of the animal's face.
Hinton is one of three elders left who speak this vivid tongue, surviving matriarchs from the last generation to communicate in Oneida. Most members of the Wisconsin tribe today know basic vocabulary but can't use it in conversations.
Want to know more? Click here: http://www.nativebiz.com/community/News,op=visit,nid=17590.html
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