Examining Efforts to Maintain and Revitalize Native Languages for Future Generations

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Examining Efforts to Maintain and Revitalize Native Languages for Future Generations S. HRG. 115–367 EXAMINING EFFORTS TO MAINTAIN AND REVITALIZE NATIVE LANGUAGES FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS HEARING BEFORE THE COMMITTEE ON INDIAN AFFAIRS UNITED STATES SENATE ONE HUNDRED FIFTEENTH CONGRESS SECOND SESSION AUGUST 22, 2018 Printed for the use of the Committee on Indian Affairs ( U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE 32–539 PDF WASHINGTON : 2018 VerDate Mar 15 2010 12:55 Nov 08, 2018 Jkt 032539 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 5011 Sfmt 5011 S:\DOCS\32539.TXT JACK COMMITTEE ON INDIAN AFFAIRS JOHN HOEVEN, North Dakota, Chairman TOM UDALL, New Mexico, Vice Chairman JOHN BARRASSO, Wyoming MARIA CANTWELL, Washington JOHN MCCAIN, Arizona JON TESTER, Montana, LISA MURKOWSKI, Alaska BRIAN SCHATZ, Hawaii JAMES LANKFORD, Oklahoma HEIDI HEITKAMP, North Dakota STEVE DAINES, Montana CATHERINE CORTEZ MASTO, Nevada MIKE CRAPO, Idaho TINA SMITH, Minnesota JERRY MORAN, Kansas T. MICHAEL ANDREWS, Majority Staff Director and Chief Counsel JENNIFER ROMERO, Minority Staff Director and Chief Counsel (II) VerDate Mar 15 2010 12:55 Nov 08, 2018 Jkt 032539 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 S:\DOCS\32539.TXT JACK C O N T E N T S Page Hearing held on August 22, 2018 ........................................................................... 1 Statement of Senator Cortez Masto ....................................................................... 43 Statement of Senator Daines .................................................................................. 4 Statement of Senator Hoeven ................................................................................. 1 Statement of Senator Murkowski ........................................................................... 6 Statement of Senator Schatz .................................................................................. 5 Statement of Senator Tester ................................................................................... 4 Statement of Senator Thune ................................................................................... 7 Statement of Senator Udall .................................................................................... 2 WITNESSES Baird, Hon. Jessie Little Doe, Vice Chairwoman, Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe . 12 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 14 Hovland, Hon. Jeannie, Commissioner, Administration for Native Americans, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services ............................................. 8 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 10 Hummingbird, Lauren E., Graduate, Tsalagi Tsunadeloquasdi, Cherokee Na- tion Immersion School ......................................................................................... 32 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 34 Rawlins, Namaka, Director, Strategic Partnerships and Collaboration, Aha Punana Leo ........................................................................................................... 18 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 19 Sims, Christine, Ph.D., Director, American Indian Language Policy Research and Teacher Training Center .............................................................................. 25 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 27 APPENDIX American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL), prepared statement .............................................................................................................. 61 Barbry, John D., Director of Development & Programing, Education Program, Language & Culture Revitalization Program, Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Lou- isiana, prepared statement .................................................................................. 58 Barnes, Nancy, Juneau, AK , prepared statement ............................................... 65 Begaye, Hon. Russell, President, Navajo Nation, prepared statement ............... 60 Bowman, Dr. Jolene, President, National Indian Education Association (NIEA), prepared statement ................................................................................ 67 Burr, Terri, Ahl’lidaaw Language Facilitator, Tsimshian Education Depart- ment, prepared statement ................................................................................... 71 Cancuba Collective, prepared statement ............................................................... 54 Dawson, Desa, ACTFL Past President; Director of World Language Edu- cation, Oklahoma State Department of Education, prepared statement ........ 54 Dewitt-Narino, Lisa Maria, prepared statement .................................................. 60 Doak, Ivy, Ph.D., Denton, TX; Former Executive Secretary, Society for the Study of the Indigenous Languages of the Americas (2008–2017), prepared statement .............................................................................................................. 57 Gettleman, Todd, Kealakekua, HI, prepared statement ...................................... 81 Greymorning, Dr. Neyooxet, prepared statement ................................................. 56 Haliwa-Saponi Indian Tribe, prepared statement ................................................ 64 Hayton, Allan, Language Revitalization Program Director, Doyon Foundation, prepared statement .............................................................................................. 50 Hayward, Amber Sterud, Director, Puyallup Tribal Language Program; Zalmai Zahir Ph.D. Candidate, Linguistics University of Oregon, Lushootseed Language Consultant, prepared statement ................................. 50 (III) VerDate Mar 15 2010 12:55 Nov 08, 2018 Jkt 032539 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 S:\DOCS\32539.TXT JACK IV Page Heaton, Raina Ph.D,, Linguistics, Assistant Professor of Native American Studies; Assistant Curator of Native American Languages, Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History, University of Oklahoma, prepared statement .............................................................................................................. 70 Kowalski, Sandra, Director of Indigenous Programs, Office of Rural, Commu- nity and Native Education, University of Alaska Fairbanks, prepared state- ment ...................................................................................................................... 72 Kroskrity, Paul V., Professor of Anthropology; Professor and Chair, American Indian Studies, UCLA, prepared statement ...................................................... 69 Macaulay, Monica, President/Kristine Hildebrandt, Vice President, Endan- gered Language Fund (ELF), prepared statement ............................................ 56 Montler, Timothy, Distinguished Research Professor of linguistics, Depart- ment of Technical Communication, University of North Texas, prepared statement .............................................................................................................. 79 National Council for Languages and International Studies, prepared state- ment ...................................................................................................................... 66 Response to written questions submitted by Hon. Tom Udall to: Hon. Jeanie Hovland ........................................................................................ 82 Dr. Christine Sims ............................................................................................ 81 Richards, Norvin, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Department of Lin- guistics and Philosophy, prepared statement .................................................... 68 Sam, Paula, Enrolled Member, Northern Paiute (Gidutikad Band) of the Fort Bidwell Reservation, prepared statement .................................................. 70 Speas, Margaret, Professor Emerita of Linguistics, University of Massachu- setts, Amherst, prepared statement ................................................................... 61 Thornes, Tim, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Linguistics, Department of English, Boise State University, prepared statement ....................................... 79 Tuttle. Siri G., Ph.D., Director, Alaska Native Language Center, University of Alaska Fairbanks, prepared statement .......................................................... 53 Whalen, Douglas H., Chair/Board of Directors, Endangered Language Fund; Margaret P. Moss, Incoming Director, First Nations House of Learning, University of British Columbia; and Daryl Baldwin, Director, Myaamia Center, Miami University (Ohio), joint prepared statement ............................ 71 Whitaker, Tyler A., Linguist, Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana, Language & Culture Revitalization Program (LCRP), Cultural & Educational Re- sources Center (CERC) Library, prepared statement ....................................... 80 Wilson, William H., Ph.D., prepared statement .................................................... 73 VerDate Mar 15 2010 12:55 Nov 08, 2018 Jkt 032539 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 S:\DOCS\32539.TXT JACK EXAMINING EFFORTS TO MAINTAIN AND REVITALIZE NATIVE LANGUAGES FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 22, 2018 U.S. SENATE, COMMITTEE ON INDIAN AFFAIRS, Washington, DC. The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 2:30 p.m. in room 628, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. John Hoeven, Chairman
Recommended publications
  • Press Release for Spoken Here Published by Houghton Mifflin
    Press Release Spoken Here by Mark Abley • Introduction • A Conversation with Mark Abley • Glossary of Threatened Languages • Praise for Spoken Here Introduction Languages are beautiful, astoundingly complex, living things. And like the many animals in danger of extinction, languages can be threatened when they lack the room to stretch and grow. In fact, of the six thousand languages in the world today, only six hundred may survive the next century. In Spoken Here, journalist Mark Abley takes us on a world tour — from the Arctic Circle to the outback of Australia — to track obscure languages and reveal their beauty and the devotion of those who work to save them. Abley is passionate about two things: traveling to remote places and seeking out rarities in danger of being lost. He combines his two passions in Spoken Here. At the age of forty-five, he left the security of home and job to embark on a quixotic quest to track language gems before they disappear completely. On his travels, Abley gives us glimpses of fascinating people and their languages: • one of the last two speakers of an Australian language, whose tribal taboos forbid him to talk to the other • people who believe that violence is the only way to save a tongue • a Yiddish novelist who writes for an audience that may not exist • the Amazonian language last spoken by a parrot • the Caucasian language with no vowels • a South Asian language whose innumerable verbs include gobray (to fall into a well unknowingly) and onsra (to love for the last time). Abley also highlights languages that can be found closer to home: Yiddish in Brooklyn and Montreal, Yuchi in Oklahoma, and Mohawk in New York and Quebec.
    [Show full text]
  • Language in the USA
    This page intentionally left blank Language in the USA This textbook provides a comprehensive survey of current language issues in the USA. Through a series of specially commissioned chapters by lead- ing scholars, it explores the nature of language variation in the United States and its social, historical, and political significance. Part 1, “American English,” explores the history and distinctiveness of American English, as well as looking at regional and social varieties, African American Vernacular English, and the Dictionary of American Regional English. Part 2, “Other language varieties,” looks at Creole and Native American languages, Spanish, American Sign Language, Asian American varieties, multilingualism, linguistic diversity, and English acquisition. Part 3, “The sociolinguistic situation,” includes chapters on attitudes to language, ideology and prejudice, language and education, adolescent language, slang, Hip Hop Nation Language, the language of cyberspace, doctor–patient communication, language and identity in liter- ature, and how language relates to gender and sexuality. It also explores recent issues such as the Ebonics controversy, the Bilingual Education debate, and the English-Only movement. Clear, accessible, and broad in its coverage, Language in the USA will be welcomed by students across the disciplines of English, Linguistics, Communication Studies, American Studies and Popular Culture, as well as anyone interested more generally in language and related issues. edward finegan is Professor of Linguistics and Law at the Uni- versity of Southern California. He has published articles in a variety of journals, and his previous books include Attitudes toward English Usage (1980), Sociolinguistic Perspectives on Register (co-edited with Douglas Biber, 1994), and Language: Its Structure and Use, 4th edn.
    [Show full text]
  • Kanien'keha / Mohawk Indigenous Language
    Kanien’keha / Mohawk Indigenous Language Revitalisation Efforts KANIEN’KEHA / MOHAWK INDIGENOUS LANGUAGE REVITALISATION EFFORTS IN CANADA GRACE A. GOMASHIE University of Western Ontario ABSTRACT. This paper gives an overview of ongoing revitalisation efforts for Kanien’keha / Mohawk, one of the endangered Indigenous languages in Canada. For the Mohawk people, their language represents a significant part of the culture, identity and well-being of individuals, families, and communities. The endanger- ment of Kanien’keha and other Indigenous languages in Canada was greatly accelerated by the residential school system. This paper describes the challenges surrounding language revitalisation in Mohawk communities within Canada as well as progress made, specifically for the Kanien’keha / Mohawk language. EFFORTS DE REVITALISATION LINGUISTIQUE DE LA LANGUE MOHAWK / KANIEN’KEHA AU CANADA RÉSUMÉ. Cet article offre une vue d’ensemble des efforts de revitalisation linguis- tique réalisés pour préserver la langue mohawk / kanien’keha, une des langues autochtones les plus menacées au Canada. Pour la communauté mohawk, cette langue constitue une part fondamentale de la culture, de l’identité et du bien-être des individus, des familles et des communautés. La mise en péril de la langue mohawk / kanien’keha et des autres langues autochtones au Canada a été grandement accentuée par le système de pensionnats autochtones. Cet article explore les défis inhérents à la revitalisation de la langue en cours dans les communautés mohawks au Canada et les progrès réalisés, particulièrement en ce qui a trait à la langue mohawk / kanien’keha. WHY SAVING ENDANGERED LANGUAGES IS IMPORTANT Linguists estimate that at least half of the world’s 7,000 languages will be endangered in a few generations as they are no longer being spoken as first languages (Austin & Sallabank, 2011; Krauss, 1992).
    [Show full text]
  • Saanich Morphology and Phonology' Is Based on Field Work Carried out During the Summers of 1978 Through 1981
    An Outline of the Morphology and Phonology of Saanich 07/05/2005 10:08 AM PREFACE This slightly revised version of my 1984 University of Hawaii dissertaion 'Saanich Morphology and Phonology' is based on field work carried out during the summers of 1978 through 1981. I have since been back to Saanich country and worked with a number of other speakers. The analyses presented here have, for the most part, been confirmed. At least the basic distributional properties of the forms discussed here seem to be correct. I have, however, discovered a few lexical suffixes and post-predicate particles not mentioned here. The analyes I have been rethinking are those of the reduplicative processes and the demonstrative particles. I now feel that at least soem of the reduplicative processes analyzed as vowelless with a subsequent insertion of schwa might be better analyzed as having an underlying full vowel that reduces when unstressed. The problems with the demonstratives involve the two formatives referring to place and their relationship to a preposition /ƛ̕əʔ/ which indicates direction toward a specific place. It is my hope that this work will be useful despite its holes. They will never be all patched; "all grammars leak." A Elsie Claxton put it when as a summer was coming to an end I expressed to her how much more I wanted to learn about her language: "sk̕ʷey kʷs ʔaw̕k̕ʷs." There's no end to it. Research for this work was supported by grants from the National Science Foundation and the National Endowment for the Humanities through the Northwest Indian Languages Studies Project under the direction of Professor Laurence C.
    [Show full text]
  • Eyak Podcast Gr: 9-12 (Lesson 1)
    HONORING EYAK: EYAK PODCAST GR: 9-12 (LESSON 1) Elder Quote: “We have a dictionary pertaining to the Eyak language, since there are so few of us left. That’s something my mom neve r taught me, was the Eyak language. It is altogether different than the Aleut. There are so few of us left that they have to do a book about the Eyak Tribe. There are so many things that my mother taught me, like smoking fish, putting up berries, and how to keep our wild meat. I have to show you; I can’t tell you how it is done, but anything you want to know I’ll tell you about the Eyak tribe.” - Rosie Lankard, 1980i Grade Level: 9-12 Overview: Heritage preservation requires both active participation and awareness of cultural origins. The assaults upon Eyak culture and loss of fluent Native speakers in the recent past have made the preservation of Eyak heritage even more challenging. Here students actively investigate and discuss Eyak history and culture to inspire their production of culturally insightful podcasts. Honoring Eyak Page 1 Cordova Boy in sealskin, Photo Courtesy of Cordova Historical Society Standards: AK Cultural: AK Content: CRCC: B1: Acquire insights from other Geography B1: Know that places L1: Students should understand the cultures without diminishing the integrity have distinctive characteristics value and importance of the Eyak of their own. language and be actively involved in its preservation. Lesson Goal: Students select themes or incidents from Eyak history and culture to create culturally meaningful podcasts. Lesson Objectives: Students will: Review and discuss Eyak history.
    [Show full text]
  • Person-Based Prominence in Ojibwe
    University of Massachusetts Amherst ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst Doctoral Dissertations Dissertations and Theses December 2020 Person-based Prominence in Ojibwe Christopher Hammerly University of Massachusetts Amherst Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations_2 Part of the Cognitive Psychology Commons, Language Description and Documentation Commons, Morphology Commons, Psycholinguistics and Neurolinguistics Commons, Syntax Commons, and the Typological Linguistics and Linguistic Diversity Commons Recommended Citation Hammerly, Christopher, "Person-based Prominence in Ojibwe" (2020). Doctoral Dissertations. 2024. https://doi.org/10.7275/18867536 https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations_2/2024 This Open Access Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Dissertations and Theses at ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. For more information, please contact [email protected]. PERSON-BASED PROMINENCE IN OJIBWE A Dissertation Presented by CHRISTOPHER MATHIAS HAMMERLY Submitted to the Graduate School of the University of Massachusetts Amherst in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY September 2020 Linguistics © Copyright by Christopher M. Hammerly 2020 All Rights Reserved PERSON-BASED PROMINENCE IN OJIBWE A Dissertation Presented by CHRISTOPHER MATHIAS HAMMERLY Approved as to style and content by: Brian Dillon, Chair Rajesh Bhatt, Member Adrian Staub, Member Joe Pater, Department Chair Department of Linguistics For the Anishinaabeg of Nigigoonsiminikaaning and Seine River “How odd I can have all this inside me and to you it’s just words.” — David Foster Wallace, The Pale King ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This thesis is at once a beginning and an end.
    [Show full text]
  • Native Sustainment: the North Fork Mono Tribe's
    Native Sustainment The North Fork Mono Tribe's Stories, History, and Teaching of Its Land and Water Tenure in 1918 and 2009 Jared Dahl Aldern Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy from Prescott College in Education with a Concentration in Sustainability Education May 2010 Steven J. Crum, Ph.D. George Lipsitz, Ph.D. Committee Member Committee Member Margaret Field, Ph.D. Theresa Gregor, Ph.D. External Expert Reader External Expert Reader Pramod Parajuli, Ph.D. Committee Chair Native Sustainment ii Copyright © 2010 by Jared Dahl Aldern. All rights reserved. No part of this dissertation may be used, reproduced, stored, recorded, or transmitted in any form or manner whatsoever without written permission from the copyright holder or his agent(s), except in the case of brief quotations embodied in the papers of students, and in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. Requests for such permission should be addressed to: Jared Dahl Aldern 2658 East Alluvial Avenue, #103 Clovis, CA 93611 Native Sustainment iii Acknowledgments Gratitude to: The North Fork Mono Tribe, its Chairman, Ron Goode, and members Melvin Carmen (R.I.P.), Lois Conner, Stan Dandy, Richard Lavelle, Ruby Pomona, and Grace Tex for their support, kindnesses, and teachings. My doctoral committee: Steven J. Crum, Margaret Field, Theresa Gregor, George Lipsitz, and Pramod Parajuli for listening, for reading, and for their mentorship. Jagannath Adhikari, Kat Anderson, Steve Archer, Donna Begay, Lisa
    [Show full text]
  • THIRTEEN MOONS Curriculum
    THIRTEEN MOONS Curriculum OJIBWAY CREE MOHAWK PRACTITIONER GUIDE LBS LEVELS 2 AND 3 13 MOONS – Teacher’s Guide 0 13 MOONS – Teacher’s Guide 1 © Ontario Native Literacy Coalition [2010] Table of Contents Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………………..4 Aboriginal Calendars………………………………………………………………………………..…5 OJIBWE Unit………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….6 Introduction & Pronunciation Guide…………………………………………………….8 Moons …………………………………………………………………………………………………..9 Numbers …………………………………………………………………………………………….12 Days of the Week …………………………………………………………………………….….14 Seasons ……………………………………………………………………………………………...15 CREE Unit…………………………………………………………………………………………………..16 Introduction ……………………………………………………………………………………….18 Moons ………………………………………………………………………………………………...19 Numbers ………………………………………………………………………………………….…20 Seasons and Days of the Week ………………………………………………………..…..22 MOHAWK Unit…………………………………………………………………………………………..24 Vowels………………………………………….………………………………………………..……26 Consonants……………………………………………………………………………………..…..27 Months…………………………………………………………………………………………..……29 Numbers………………………………………………………………………………………..……30 Days………………………………………………………………………………………………..…..32 Seasons…………………………………………………………………………………………..…..33 Cycle of Ceremonies……………………………………………………………………………34 Resources……………………………………………………………………………………………….…36 2011-2012 Calendars ……………………………………………………………………..…37 2011 Moon Phases ………………………………………………………………………..…..38 Sample Calendar Page …………………………………………………………………...….40 Task-Based Activities……………………………………………………………………………………44 Writing Activity
    [Show full text]
  • Native Language Immersion Initiative
    YEARS 1 & 2 OUTCOMES REPORT OCTOBER 2019 NATIVE LANGUAGE IMMERSION INITIATIVE OUR GUIDING PRINCIPLE We believe that when armed with appropriate resources, Native peoples hold the capacity and ingenuity to ensure the sustainable, economic, spiritual and cultural well-being of their communities. 1 NLII | YEARS 1 & 2 OUTCOMES REPORT First Nations Development Institute (First Nations) launched its Native Language Immersion Initiative (NLII) in late 2017 to build on its longtime efforts to support the revitalization and perpetuation of Native languages. Language is a vital asset for Native people and communities. It defines who we are, where we come from and our value systems that, in many ways, cannot be translated into English. Language-immersion programs have been recognized as providing key benefits to Native communities by boosting educational achievement and student retention rates. They also support community identity, Native systems of kinship, and management of community, cultural and natural resources. Thank you to National Endowment for the Humanities, Lannan Foundation, NoVo Foundation, Kalliopeia Foundation and thousands of individual donors across the nation for supporting this initiative. Because of this generous support, First Nations was able to provide 25 grants totaling more than $2.1 million in 2018 and 2019 through this initiative. We are pleased to share the initial results of Years 1 and 2 of this vital initiative with our stories of strength, CHAMPIONS ACROSS THE NATION resistance, We are grateful to the thousands of individuals across the nation who resiliency supported this initiative in late 2018 through a matching-gift challenge. and hope. 2 NLII | YEARS 1 & 2 OUTCOMES REPORT REFLECTIONS BENNY SHENDO, JR.
    [Show full text]
  • A Spatial and Elemental Analyses of the Ceramic Assemblage at Mialoquo (40Mr3), an Overhill Cherokee Town in Monroe County, Tennessee
    University of Tennessee, Knoxville TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange Masters Theses Graduate School 12-2019 COALESCED CHEROKEE COMMUNITIES IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY: A SPATIAL AND ELEMENTAL ANALYSES OF THE CERAMIC ASSEMBLAGE AT MIALOQUO (40MR3), AN OVERHILL CHEROKEE TOWN IN MONROE COUNTY, TENNESSEE Christian Allen University of Tennessee, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes Recommended Citation Allen, Christian, "COALESCED CHEROKEE COMMUNITIES IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY: A SPATIAL AND ELEMENTAL ANALYSES OF THE CERAMIC ASSEMBLAGE AT MIALOQUO (40MR3), AN OVERHILL CHEROKEE TOWN IN MONROE COUNTY, TENNESSEE. " Master's Thesis, University of Tennessee, 2019. https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes/5572 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Masters Theses by an authorized administrator of TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. For more information, please contact [email protected]. To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a thesis written by Christian Allen entitled "COALESCED CHEROKEE COMMUNITIES IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY: A SPATIAL AND ELEMENTAL ANALYSES OF THE CERAMIC ASSEMBLAGE AT MIALOQUO (40MR3), AN OVERHILL CHEROKEE TOWN IN MONROE COUNTY, TENNESSEE." I have examined the final electronic copy of this thesis for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree of Master of Arts, with a major in Anthropology. Kandace Hollenbach, Major Professor We have read this thesis and recommend its acceptance: Gerald Schroedl, Julie Reed Accepted for the Council: Dixie L.
    [Show full text]
  • Chapter 2. Native Languages of West-Central California
    Chapter 2. Native Languages of West-Central California This chapter discusses the native language spoken at Spanish contact by people who eventually moved to missions within Costanoan language family territories. No area in North America was more crowded with distinct languages and language families than central California at the time of Spanish contact. In the chapter we will examine the information that leads scholars to conclude the following key points: The local tribes of the San Francisco Peninsula spoke San Francisco Bay Costanoan, the native language of the central and southern San Francisco Bay Area and adjacent coastal and mountain areas. San Francisco Bay Costanoan is one of six languages of the Costanoan language family, along with Karkin, Awaswas, Mutsun, Rumsen, and Chalon. The Costanoan language family is itself a branch of the Utian language family, of which Miwokan is the only other branch. The Miwokan languages are Coast Miwok, Lake Miwok, Bay Miwok, Plains Miwok, Northern Sierra Miwok, Central Sierra Miwok, and Southern Sierra Miwok. Other languages spoken by native people who moved to Franciscan missions within Costanoan language family territories were Patwin (a Wintuan Family language), Delta and Northern Valley Yokuts (Yokutsan family languages), Esselen (a language isolate) and Wappo (a Yukian family language). Below, we will first present a history of the study of the native languages within our maximal study area, with emphasis on the Costanoan languages. In succeeding sections, we will talk about the degree to which Costanoan language variation is clinal or abrupt, the amount of difference among dialects necessary to call them different languages, and the relationship of the Costanoan languages to the Miwokan languages within the Utian Family.
    [Show full text]
  • Devils Postpile and the Mammoth Lakes Sierra Devils Postpile Formation and Talus
    Nature and History on the Sierra Crest: Devils Postpile and the Mammoth Lakes Sierra Devils Postpile formation and talus. (Devils Postpile National Monument Image Collection) Nature and History on the Sierra Crest Devils Postpile and the Mammoth Lakes Sierra Christopher E. Johnson Historian, PWRO–Seattle National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior 2013 Production Project Manager Paul C. Anagnostopoulos Copyeditor Heather Miller Composition Windfall Software Photographs Credit given with each caption Printer Government Printing Office Published by the United States National Park Service, Pacific West Regional Office, Seattle, Washington. Printed on acid-free paper. Printed in the United States of America. 10987654321 As the Nation’s principal conservation agency, the Department of the Interior has responsibility for most of our nationally owned public lands and natural and cultural resources. This includes fostering sound use of our land and water resources; protecting our fish, wildlife, and biological diversity; preserving the environmental and cultural values of our national parks and historical places; and providing for the enjoyment of life through outdoor recreation. The Department assesses our energy and mineral resources and works to ensure that their development is in the best interests of all our people by encouraging stewardship and citizen participation in their care. The Department also has a major responsibility for American Indian reservation communities and for people who live in island territories under U.S. administration.
    [Show full text]