Geography of American Indian Language Policy Thomas Pierre-Yves Brasdefer Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College
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Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 2013 Sites of indigenous language practice : geography of American Indian language policy Thomas Pierre-Yves Brasdefer Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations Part of the Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons Recommended Citation Brasdefer, Thomas Pierre-Yves, "Sites of indigenous language practice : geography of American Indian language policy" (2013). LSU Doctoral Dissertations. 1229. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations/1229 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized graduate school editor of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please [email protected]. SITES OF INDIGENOUS LANGUAGE PRACTICE: GEOGRAPHY OF AMERICAN INDIAN LANGUAGE POLICY A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in The Department of Geography & Anthropology by Thomas Brasdefer Master, Université de Poitiers, 2005 August 2013 Acknowledgements There is a lot I have to acknowledge, and the benign recursion of this section is just too good to be omitted. Thank you for reading these lines: you are the Copernican revolution to this dissertation. None of this would have ever happened without the input of hundreds of people who took my phone calls, braved more communication breakdowns than I can count and talked to me for a minute or twelve; thank you, I cannot say for sure that I would have done the same for you. The stories you have shared with me are more gutwrenching and heartwarming than I could tell with my own words. I feel privileged to have heard them and I promise to keep acknowledging you in everything I do. This dissertation is owed in large part to Dr. Brody and Dr. Rowe, who (in that order) decided that it would be a good idea to bear with me for a while. If there are any teas left uncrossed or any eyes left undotted, I am the only one to blame. Thank you to my intramural committee members, Dr. DeLyser and Dr. Colten, for your expert guidance. Thank you to Dr. Eldon Brithwright, dean’s representative. Support from the home front: Hannah, my wife of a million years. My family in France: Charline, Denis, Etienne, François; Suin, Pruvot, Vanhove, Vandenbroucke; Kréplak, Mailly, Wagner, sorry I skipped town. Baton Rouge, you have a lot to answer for. Tissières, we will be visiting. Round the world dōjin: Svinkels, Мишка, thank you for the prodding. Innocent bystanders: Steve Aylett, Warren Ellis, Will Self, thank you for the unkind words. ii Table of Contents Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................................... ii Abstract ......................................................................................................................................v Chapter 0. Prologue ........................................................................................................................1 Chapter 1. Introduction ..................................................................................................................3 1.1. Indigenous Geography ......................................................................................... 5 1.2. Orientations .......................................................................................................... 7 Chapter 2. Background and Methodology ...................................................................................10 2.1. Philosophical Background ................................................................................. 11 2.1.1. Policy and Power .......................................................................................... 12 2.1.2. Foucauldian Power ....................................................................................... 14 2.1.3. Geographical Applications ........................................................................... 16 2.2. Theoretical Background ..................................................................................... 18 2.2.1. Paradigm Shift: from "Scales" to "Sites" ..................................................... 19 2.2.2. Realgeographie ............................................................................................. 22 2.2.3. Complexity of Space .................................................................................... 25 2.2.4. Spaces of Engagement ................................................................................. 26 2.3. Methodology ...................................................................................................... 28 2.3.1. Initial Explorations ....................................................................................... 29 2.3.2. Ad Hoc Justification ..................................................................................... 29 Chapter 3. Mapping Practices ......................................................................................................33 3.1. Mapping Linguistic Practices ............................................................................ 34 3.1.1. Borrowing from Linguists ............................................................................ 36 3.1.2. Linguistic Spaces.......................................................................................... 37 3.1.3. The Linguistic Site ....................................................................................... 39 3.1.4. The Nexus of Geography and Linguistics .................................................... 40 3.2. Indigenous Situation .......................................................................................... 41 3.2.1. Finding the “American Indian” .................................................................... 42 3.2.2. Colonized Geography ................................................................................... 45 3.2.3. Indigenous Resistance and Resilience.......................................................... 48 3.3. Mapping Language Practice .............................................................................. 51 3.3.1. Spaces of Linguistic Engagement ................................................................ 54 3.3.2. A Language Policy History of the United States ......................................... 57 3.3.3. American Indian Languages in the United States ........................................ 61 3.4. Language and Power .......................................................................................... 65 3.4.1. Critical Language Policy .............................................................................. 67 3.4.2. Critical Language Policy in the United States ............................................. 69 3.4.3. Language Ideology ....................................................................................... 72 3.5. Conclusion ......................................................................................................... 74 Chapter 4. Indigenous Communities ............................................................................................76 iii 4.1. Searching for the Authors of Linguistic Spaces ................................................ 77 4.2. The Importance of Legislating ........................................................................... 79 4.3. Local Initiative Prevails ..................................................................................... 81 4.4. Bridging Ideological Divides ............................................................................. 83 4.5. Conclusion ......................................................................................................... 85 Chapter 5. Ontological Analysis ..................................................................................................87 5.1. Ontological Coincidences between Space and Language .................................. 87 5.1.1. Ontological Objects ...................................................................................... 88 5.1.2. Ontological Study ......................................................................................... 89 5.2. Complexity of Language.................................................................................... 90 5.2.1. Linguistic Creativity ..................................................................................... 91 5.2.2. Constructing a Frame of Reference .............................................................. 92 5.2.3. Multivariety and Variation ........................................................................... 95 5.2.4. Conflict and Conventionalization................................................................. 97 5.3. Generating Space through Language ................................................................. 98 5.3.1. Making Space through Language Practices ................................................. 99 5.3.2. Space and Discourse................................................................................... 100 5.3.3. Nostalgia and the Transformation of Space into Place .............................. 101 5.3.4. American Indian Space in America ..........................................................