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"Language and culture is our identity it's our way of life, lifestyle, language feast food, arts and crafts, customs, clothing dance and song," said Faye Viarreal of the Espanola Public Schools, language/cultural preservationist, Santa Clara Pueblo Tribe. Viarreal was a panelist at Thursday's American Indian Heritage Month discussion at the Laboratory.

Native American panelists discuss impact of dying languages on cultures

"We experienced intense physical punishment when our native language was spoken at the Bureau of Indian Affairs boarding school," said language/cultural preservation teacher, Debra Loretto of the Jicarilla-Apache tribe. Loretto spoke at the Materials Science Building Auditorium on Thursday as part of American Indian Heritage Month at the Lab.

This year’s American Indian History Month theme is "The Power of Language in Diversity."

Three tribal members who serve as educators and tribal governor discussed their tribe and community’s efforts to preserve their languages. Panelists included Nambe Pueblo Gov. Tom Talache Jr.; language/cultural preservationist, Deborah Loretto and Faye Viarreal, Española Public Schools, language/cultural preservationist, Santa Clara Pueblo.

The panelists gave the following reasons for their tribe’s dying languages:

Loretto said, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, once was an instrument of federal policies to subjugate and assimilate American Indian tribes and their peoples, and has been a problem for some Native Americans. "I am considered a BIA student. We were not allowed to leave the school, and I had a stressful life. The experience resulted in a breakdown of the family structure, because we didn’t know our parents for nine months of the year," said Loretto.

Following World War I World War II and the relocation program, many of the Native Americans did not return to their homes, said Viarreal.

Housing and urban development also divided Native Americans, Viarreal said. "Before, everyone lived together and had a hand in raising our children; now we can’t say anything," Viarreal said. As a solution, Viarreal advised the men and women of the pueblos to take their children under their wings by teaching them to make traditional foods taught in their native language.

Talache agreed that tribal elders are not passing their language on to the younger generations. "Only 6 percent of the people in Nambe Pueblo speak Tewa. The elders let it die and it’s their responsibility," said Talache. "The elders speak, but they don’t know how to teach," he added.

While the issue of preserving Native American languages is a daunting task, the panelists agreed that steps are being taken to help rectify the problem. Language/preservation cultural teachers, bilingual programs for Native Americans, youth language fairs, technology symposiums and Web-based lessons in languages are more commonplace. "The driving force is to leave a language legacy behind," said Talache.

Three tribal members who serve as educators and tribal governors discussed their tribe and community's efforts to preserve their languages from dying. Panelists from left to right are Nambe Pueblo Gov. Tom Talache; language/cultural preservationist, Deborah Loretto, Jicarilla-Apache Tribe; and Viarreal. Photos by Leroy N. Sanchez, Public Affairs

According to the World Wide Web, "It's been dubbed the growth of ‘Mclanguage,’ the increasing global prevalence of the four super languages, English, Spanish, Chinese and Arabic at the sacrifice of all others. In the past 100 years more than half of the world's languages have effectively disappeared."

A recent report by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization estimates that half of approximately 6,000 languages currently spoken worldwide are endangered to some degree or dying out.

A presentation on the cognitive qualities of language is tentatively scheduled for May. It will be co-sponsored by the Deaf Awareness group.

A poster exhibit with information contributed by Lab workers from pueblos and tribes from 17 states also is on display through April 30 in the Bradbury Science Museum downtown.

The talk and exhibits are sponsored by the American Indian Diversity Working Group, the Tribal Relations team in the Government Relations Office (GRO), the Laboratory’s Diversity/Affirmative Action Board and the Diversity Office (DVO).

The Diversity Office has received many requests to view the videotape of the April 12 presentation by Hazel John-Dean Muhlenbruch, founder and former director of the Seneca Language Center, Allegany Reservation, in upper New York State. (See April 13 Daily NewsBulletin.) The videotape can be checked out from the DVO library by calling 7-5665.

--Kathryn Ostic

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