A couple of set backs for indigenous languages

The news on the language revitalization front is not good. First, the Navajo Nation weakened its dedication to preserving its own national identity by no longer requiring the president of that nation to be a fluent speaker of the Navajo language. This change is apparently because many younger Navajos lack fluency themselves.

I know from my teaching of Introduction to Native American  Studies for over twenty years how many Native Americans understand the issues of language and identity or language and sovereignty issues. Despite not having the data needed to understand those issues, the universal lament of the students is not being able to speak their native language: It somehow lessens them in their own eyes and lays their indigenous identity open to doubt.

Of course, giving up the Navajo language as the national language of the Navajo Nation speaks of the triumph of the on-going assimilation policy of the United States. It literally means more American Indians have lost a unique cultural identity.

The second troubling news is that the percentage of Māori language speakers has dropped by 4 percentage points to a little over 21%. The Māori have been the poster child of indigenous language revitalization. This drop in numbers of te reo Māori speakers reflects the deaths of fluent speakers, who are still mostly older. Of course, this also means that insufficient numbers of children are growing up speaking their heritage language--another victory for assimilation educational policies.  This is despite the fact that the Māori have shown that te reo Māori can be used for all aspects of life--religious, family, community, and technology to name a few.

I recently raised the issue of the best role of schools in language revitalization at the 6th Annual American Indian and Indigenous Education Conference at Flagstaff in July. While indigenous languages should be the medium of instruction in schools for indigenous students, too many parents and educators have relied to heavily on this medium. This appears to be the case for the Māori, for example. Any Māori child can now request instruction in the Māori language. However, this is only 1.5 hours a week, an insufficient amount of time for anybody to learn another language.

While change is inevitable always, it does seem that those who carry a minority or indigenous identity must redouble their efforts if anyone is to continue to speak a minority  or indigenous language.