The Revitalization of the Navajo Language and Culture
There are several languages all over the world that
are in the danger of extinction for various reasons, and if people mean to
prevent them from disappearing for good, measures have to be taken in order to
save them. The North American Navajo language can be considered such a language;
therefore, in my essay I would like to write about the underlying problems and
the efforts that were made in the schools of Chinle, Arizona, at the turn of
the century, to revitalize the Navajo language and culture in Navajo/English
dual language classrooms.
The Navajo language is spoken in the south-western
part of the United Sates. The Navajo is the largest tribe of the U.S. that is federally
recognized. These people live in Navajo Nation, a semi-autonomous Native
American-governed territory that is located at the Four Corners, the only place
in the United States where four state borders meet: the borders of Colorado,
New Mexico, Arizona and Utah( Reyhner
& Martin, 2000).
Although 175 American Indian languages are still
spoken in the United States, only 11% of them are taught to children in schools.
Navajo belongs to this small percentage and is luckily in the best shape with
about 148,500 speakers in 1999. Chinle is a small town that is located in the
central part of the Navajo Nation. Its school district enrols over 4,000
students in seven school; more than 90% of them are American Indians (Reyhner & Martin, 2000).
The Dual Language Program was first put to the test in
1997 in two primary school classrooms. Each class was taught by a bilingual
teacher. Half of both classes were Navajo dominant Limited English Proficient(LEP)
students, the other half were English proficient students. The curriculum was
extended with a special Summer Dual Language Camp during the long summer
holiday (Reyhner & Martin,
2000).
These actions were needed because of the suppression
of Navajo culture and language in the middle of the 20th century. This period
has been called as the “era of termination”. For instance, Willard Beatty’s
words at a 1948 congressional hearing reveal the way this culture was treated.
He was the Director of Education for the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and
testified that the “basic purpose of Indian education for Navajo children is to
teach them to speak, think, and read and write in the English language”(Reyhner & Martin, 2000).
Based on the report of those teachers who entered
school in the 1950s and 1960s, the Navajo language was not used by teachers
although they were Navajos, just like their students. It was also common for
students to be punished for speaking Navajo, this way they were “forced to
change their Navajo language into English”(Reyhner & Martin, 2000).
The training
of bilingual teachers with the cooperation of nearby universities was essential for the success of the Dual Language
program. The aim was to
graduate over 200 teachers by 1996 who were required to select an academic
specialization in Navajo language, culture, and history. These teachers were
then able to apply what they had learnt later in the dual language classrooms.(Reyhner
& Martin, 2000)
There were several challenges that the teachers had to
face. One of them being that Navajo people’s worldview and how they perceive
the world around them differs from the way of thinking of the Western people (Berlo,
2011). First of all, there is more emphasis on visual images. Secondly, Navajo
systems of thought, language, and art “focus on dynamic motion”. An example, which
is provided by Janet C. Berlo(2011), is the more common use of “to go” in
sentences rather than “to be” which is a static and non-dynamic verb.
Moreover, according to the writing by Dalia Rodriguez
Navajo children are prone to learn new things more effectively by remaining
silent and observant. That can cause problems when they are taught according to
Western teaching methods. They can benefit much more from an educational
setting that is formed based on their needs. (Rodriguez, 2011)
Furthermore, special methods were needed in the Mathematics
classes in Chinle as well, with the use of visual models for measurement.
Traditionally, Navajos did not use cups, yardsticks, or any type of measuring
tools but they used their hands to measure flour and estimated a day’s travel
not in miles or kilometres but in the length of a day on horseback. Therefore,
teachers in Chinle asked their students to use visual models to estimate the
distance, and then confirm their estimations using sticks as units of
measurement. (Reyhner & Martin, 2000)
The families played a significant role in the
education of these children since from the very beginning the curriculum
extended beyond the classroom. Parents were asked to talk in Navajo to their
children for at least one hour a day (Reyhner
& Martin, 2000).
The ultimate aim
of the Dual Language Program was to try to graduate students who are proficient
in both English and Navajo by finding solutions to ensure the survival of the Navajo
language. The supporters of this program wanted to save this language from
extinction since thereby they intended save an entire culture that is based on
the specific language. Every language is a separate system and deserves efforts
to be preserved, just like the unique identity of the speakers.
References
Berlo, J. C. (2011). Navajo Cosmoscapes – Up, Down,
Within. American Art, 25(1), 10-13. http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/660025
.
Reyhner, J., & Martin, J. (Eds.). (2000). Learn in Beauty: Indigenous Education for a
New Century. Flagstaff, AZ: Northern Arizona University
Rodriguez, D.
(2011). Silence as Speech: Meanings of Silence for Students of Color in Predominantly White Classrooms. International Review of Qualitative
Research, 4(1), 111-144. http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/irqr.2011.4.1.111
.
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