CSQ 35.4 (December 2011) The interconnectedness of languages, rivers, and forests

A Time for Change, Celebration, and Reflection

“Yá'át'ééh” Greetings!Hello friends and readers.

Reclaiming Aborigeneity: Richard Bell

Aboriginal Australian artist Richard Bell’s artwork has been labeled “provocative,” “uncompromising,” and “controversial” for bringing race politics into the mainstream, however, Bell sees himself as “more activist than artist.” “I’m just being matter of fact,” he says. “I recognize some people find [my work] contentious, and that my paintings attract controversy.

Awakening a Sleeping Language on Cape Cod: The Wampanoag Language Reclamation Project

How can a dream inspire an entire nation’s language revitalization movement?

Forget the Pineapple Pizza; We’ll Have the Pa'i 'ai

Dishes described as “Hawaiian” can be spotted on menus around the world. From Georgia to Japan, restaurants offer “Hawaiian” burgers, barbeque, pizza, and even pasta. Although these dishes may have pineapples aplenty, authenticity is often absent; contrary to the culturally ignorant trend, putting pineapples on a plate does not magically make it more Hawaiian.

Voice of Conscience: Mick Dodson’s Place Amidst Australia’s Unfinished Business

Mick Dodson has held wide-ranging positions since becoming the first Indigenous Australian to receive a law degree in 1974, most recently serving as Reconciliation Australia’s co-chair and Pacific region representative to the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.

In Pursuit of Autonomy: Indigenous Peoples Oppose Dam Construction on the Patuca River in Honduras

In May 2011, Cultural Survival’s Global Response program launched a letter-writing campaign at the request of Indigenous Peoples of the Moskitia, Honduras, to halt the construction of a hydroelectric dam along the pristine Patuca River.

A River Tale: Protecting a Tawahka Way of Life

Doña Rufina Cardona picks her way barefoot to the riverbank. She bends down, cupping water in one hand and wetting her face, arms, and feet. It’s early. Mist rolls off the river and up the Patuca valley; it’s just possible to make out the rainforest-covered hills on the far bank.

Bazaar Artist: Hawk Henries

The peaceful tones of Hawk Henries’ flute playing compel one to stop, listen, and reflect. His music touches people’s inner chords. Hawk Henries, a member of the Chaubunagungamaug Band of Nipmuck, a people Indigenous to what is now southern New England, has been building flutes and composing original music for over 20 years.

A Day In the Life of Radio Doble Via

Radio Doble Vía (Two Way Street) in the town of San Mateo, Quetzaltenango, Guatemala is one of the 85 locally owned and community-run radio stations which partners with Cultural Survival’s Community Radio Program.

The Yuchi House: A Storehouse of Living Treasure

Unnoticed by most passers-by, there’s an old yellow house in Sapulpa, Oklahoma that is the meeting place of the world’s only living experts on a unique language and culture, called Yuchi. Something remarkable is going on inside the “Yuchi House”— native speakers of this ancient language are conversing and passing on their vast knowledge to younger learners.

I love Sauk Language

In the United States, 70 of the remaining 139 Native American languages will disappear in the next five years unless immediate action is taken to teach these languages to younger tribal citizens. Cultural Survival’s Endangered Languages Program is partnering with tribes to help develop the resources they need to teach their language to their children.

Walking In Time Towards 2012

The Mayan civilization is one of the cultures that expanded the studies of astronomy, architecture,mathematics, and the arts. Remnants of these studies remain enshrined in the ceremonial centers of Tikal, Palenque and Copan, among others.