National Native Language Revitalization Summit

Cultural Survival and the National Alliance to Save Native Languages extend a warm thank you to all who supported the 2009 National Native Language Revitalization Summit in Washington, D.C.

The National Native Language Revitalization Summit this May covered a lot of ground and was, by almost any measure, a great success. For example, Monday’s visits to the National Anthropological Archives and the Library of Congress’ American Folklife Center and Veterans History Project brought more than 100 language advocates from across Indian Country into dialogue with some of the nation’s foremost experts on tribal cultural and linguistic materials in national archives, and introduced opportunities to submit archival materials to federal repositories such as the Veteran’s History Project. Participants in the Veteran’s History Project site visit received field kits on conducting interviews with veterans and discussed ways to incorporate Native language study and documentation into the interview and archiving process. Others received tours and research guidance at the National Anthropological Archives and the Library of Congress’ American Folk Archive.

Monday afternoon’s fundraising training session conducted by Potlatch Fund Executive Director Ken Gordon stirred lively dialogue over sustaining tribal language programs by seeking funds derived from a variety of sources. Summit keynote speaker and Piegan Institute cofounder Darrell Robes Kipp emphasized both the importance of establishing 501(c)(3) nonprofit status for program sustainability and the dangers inherent in relying primarily on tribal government and federal sources of funding. Nearly 100 attendees received a hard copy and extended CD version of the Potlatch Fund’s guide, Journey to Successful Fundraising.

Barney Old Coyote, Darrell Robes Kipp, Samuel N. Tso Hosted by the National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI), Tuesday’s “From Code Talkers to Immersion” opening sessions featured two elder warriors, Barney Old Coyote (Crow) and Samuel Tso (Navajo). Their heroic use of Native languages in wartime as code talkers was recently recognized by Congress’ passage of the Code Talker Recognition Act, first introduced in 2004 but only recently passed late in 2008. Over 250 people attended the day's events at NMAI, representing tribal communities from Alabama, Alaska, California, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Oklahoma, New York, many more states, and from several First Nations of Canada.

Panel discussions featured directors of successful language immersion schools such as ‘Aha Pūnana Leo, the Cherokee Nation, and the Piegan Institute, as well as tribal language program directors working with small speaker populations—including communities in California (Karuk), Massachusetts (Wampanoag), and Oklahoma (Euchee and Sauk). The nonprofit organization Advocates for Indigenous California Language Survival, which has over many years refined the master-apprentice method of immersion language learning, also presented an interactive language training workshop. Representatives from the Administration for Native Americans, the Grotto Foundation, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Science Foundation, and the Potlatch Fund participated in a panel discussion highlighting funding opportunities for Native language programs.

The day at the National Museum of the American Indian concluded with remarks from two strong leaders in Indian Country, Morningstar Institute president Suzan Harjo (Cheyenne & Hodulgee Muscogee) and executive director of the National Indian Education Association (NIEA) Lillian Sparks (Sicangu & Oglala Lakota). Both DC-based organizations have organized and advocated tirelessly on behalf of federal funding for Native language preservation and revitalization. Located just steps from the Capitol building, NIEA works closely with the National Congress of American Indians to advocate for Indian Country's needs.

Following a brief information session on Cultural Survival’s program work in addition to endangered languages, the Comanche Nation hosted a recognition reception for the code talkers, with honor songs and remarks offered by the Rosebud Sioux Nation, Crow Nation, and the Canupa Wakpa Dakota Nation from Manitoba, Canada.

Language Summit advocacy day briefing in the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs hearing room Wednesday’s advocacy day on Capitol Hill was organized by Ryan Wilson and Vonnie Alberts from the National Alliance to Save Native Languages and included visits to nearly two dozen House and Senate leaders, many of whom serve on key appropriations committees. Senators Tom Udall (D-NM), John Tester (D-MT), and Tom Cole (R-OK) joined Representative Betty McCollum (D-MN) in a morning briefing session honoring Barney Old Coyote and Samuel Tso. The code talkers were presented with hand-sewn star quilts created by Harriet Bearstail Goodiron from the Fort Berthold Reservation, and donated by the Three Affiliated Tribes: the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara.

Staffers from the offices of Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski and North Dakota Senator Byron Dorgan also addressed the nearly 100 Language Summit attendees gathered for the morning briefing session. Following the briefing session, attendees visited their state congressional delegations to deliver talking points and briefing papers in support of $10 million additional federal funds for the Esther Martinez Native American Languages Preservation Act. Material in the packets was prepared by the National Alliance, NIEA, NCAI, and included the Cultural Survival Quarterly issue “The Last Word,” which urges immediate action to save 70 Native American languages that could fall silent in the next 10 years.

Language Summit attendees fill the Senate Indian Affairs Committee hearing room Summit follow-up includes passage of tribal and intertribal council resolutions in support of increasing federal funding for the Esther Martinez Native American Languages Preservation Act by $10 million in the FY2010 federal budget. Please email Ryan Wilson (r_lakota@hotmail.com), National Alliance to Save Native Languages, and Jennifer Weston (jweston@cs.org), Cultural Survival, for 2007 resolutions passed by local and intertribal council leadership.

Barney Old Coyote and Samuel Tso at NMAI