CCCllleeeaaarrrlllyyy HHHeeeaaarrrddd FFFooorrreeevvveeerrr J. P. Harrington Database Project Newsletter Number 16 April 2010 May 7-8, 2010 UC Davis Conference Center. Schedule and registration: http://slai.ucdavis.edu/ The Real California Gold: Indigenous and Immigrant Heritage Languages of California We Have Outstanding Keynote Speakers Indigenous friends/colleagues has convinced me that internal identification is in many situations the Leland Kinter (Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation only definition that respects LHRs. There are many Tribal Secretary, Council Member, Language researcher voices questioning concepts such as Teacher) Presentation on Language Learning at “mother tongue” and “language”, claiming that the Yocha Dehe Wintun Academy The conference will boundedness of them essentialises and isolates open with a brief overview of the extraordinary people and belongs to an outmoded ideology which success in language revitalization among the Yocha smells of purism, glorification of authenticity and a Dehe community including both adults and forcible construction for them (not by them) of a children. romanticised traditional ethnolinguistic identity that prevents progress, change, modernisation and Francisco X. Alarcón (Author, Poet, and UC dialogue. Davis Lecturer) El Poder de la Palabra/The Power of the Word: Toward a Nahuatl/Mestizo In New World of Indigenous Resistance. Noam Consciousness and Empowerment through Poetry Chomsky and voices from North, South and Central Friday 6–7. For a Chicano, for a Mestizo, for a America (Meyer & Maldonado, May 2010), descendant of the indigenous Nahuatl people of Maldonado Alvarado criticizes Chomsky for Mesoamerica, el Día de los Muertos/Day of the holding “the erroneous view that comunalidad Dead is an important community celebration. inevitably reduces or seeks to reduce itself to that Alarcón will share reflections on his journey in which is local. Or even worse, that it excludes reclaiming an ancient Mesoamerican consciousness anything from the outside, or anything global, and proposing a new eco-poetics that advocates regardless of how valuable, useful and necessary it personal and collective empowerment for restoring might be. This view holds that those who appreciate global balance. communal ways and fight to strengthen them want to isolate their people from the world, and lock Tove Skutnabb-Kangas (Professor Emerita, themselves up in a nonexistent world free of evil” University of Roskilde, Denmark) The Human (Maldonado 2010: 368). He continues: “Isolation or Right to a Mother Tongue in Revitalising purism is not at all what the communalists have in Indigenous Languages Saturday 8:30–9:30. mind. Rather, they focus on the need to equip their Since 1972 I have tried to elaborate various mother people to circulate in the world, confident in their tongue definitions. My work with Linguistic identity and with a strong sense of belonging to Human Rights (LHRs), together with Deaf and their community. In other words, they strive to overcome the collaborative efforts between the Pechange Tribe vulnerability and dependence generated by and the UC Davis Harrington Project. postmodern nomadism” (ibid.). I agree totally. And mother tongues are mostly an important aspect of Palm Springs Cahuilla Training that strong identity. I discuss mother tongues as one On September 11, Woodward and Macri did a part of LHRs, and present examples of Harrington training at Agua Caliente for those (re)vitalization efforts from the Saami and tribal wanting to code the Cahilla papers. peoples in India and Nepal where mother tongue medium day care and education play a vital role. Happy Birthday to J. P. Harrington! As this newsletter "goes to press," it is John Leanne Hinton (Professor Emerita, UC Peabody Harrington's 126th birthday. It is with Berkeley) Teaching and Learning Endangered amazement, admiration, and gratitude that we Languages—What works? Saturday 12:15–1:15. acknowledge his contribution to Native peoples and There are many differences between teaching world to the intellectual heritage of the world. It is always languages and endangered languages, in terms of our hope that he would not object too strenuously to motivations, goals, resources, and measures of our efforts to increase accessibility to this important success. This paper discusses the approaches to body of work. second language learning of endangered languages that have had some success, both inside and outside The accompanying photo of educational institutions: immersion schooling, Coos elder Lottie (Jackson) master-apprentice programs, learning from Evanoff, who worked with documentation, and language learning at home. The Harrington, is from the Oregon importance and necessity of grass-roots learning Historical Society, negative programs and practices is especially emphasized. CN 011300. It is featured in an article by Patricia Whereat Jessie Little Doe Baird (Linguist, Director of the Phillips Tsunamis and Floods Wôpanâak Language Reclamation Project, in Coos Bay Mythology. Mashpee, MA) Your Language Needs a Check-up Patricia is a long-time from the Neck Up Saturday 4:30–5:30. It's all in volunteer with the Harrington your head! This is so true and now is the best time Project. ever to reclaim or revitalize your language. But how can you get there? What do you have to build on? Is Call for Symbols! it sufficient and what can/should you expect? We'll As we work with more and more of Harrington’s take a look at how things are progressing in another notes we continue to discover new symbols and community. We'll discuss the history of the new combinations of diacritics. We have just added Wampanoag language, its current health, and some an updated version of the symbols to the Harrington practical activities that can be conducted toward the website. If you are a project coder, what we need health of your own language. from you are any additional symbols that didn’t make it onto the new equivalents. So stay tuned and For more information, including schedule and help us collect them all! abstracts of talks, map, and registration see the website: http://slai.ucdavis.edu/. J. P. Harrington Notes Currently Being Coded or Checked Project News California languages: Achomawi/Atsugewi; Juaneño Harrington Training Cahuilla, Coast Yuki; Chimariko; A training with members of the Juaneño community Chocheño/Mutsun/Rumsen; Chumashan Ineseño; to learn to transcribe Harrington notes is planned Esselen; Gabrielino; Kato; Kitanemuk; for May. Lisa Woodward will be leading the Luiseño/Juaneño; Mutsun; Northern and Central training. Pomo; Salinan; Serrano; Karuk/Shasta/Konomihu; Tubatulabal; Wikchamni; Wintu; Yana. Pechanga Cultural Center On June 1 and 2, 2009, Macri visited the Pechanga Other languages: S.W. Oregon Athabascan; Coos; Cultural Resource Department to discuss continued Quiche; Nahuatl; Nicola; Paiute; Shoshone; Ute. Who's Who In the Language Center? protection and revitalization of Graduate Students Native cultures. She has been James Sarmento working on Harrington's (Shasta) is a graduate Karuk materials, and has also student in the Native worked on the Maidu and American Studies Wintu languages. department and is the Northern California Harrington project Jerold Blain (Benton Paiute) coordinator. He is a graduate student in received a BA in NAS. He received a Anthropology and BA BA in NAS from in Ethnic Studies from Stanford. His research CSU, Sacramento. His is on Queer Indigenous research focuses on California language performance and the revitalization and cultural resource management ways in which it contributes to Nation building and practices. He oversees all aspects of the Harrington decolonization for Native peoples in North project and is the face and voice of the Language America. He has been coding/checking the Center to the Native Community. Ute/Paiute/Shoshone notes. Abel G. Ruiz is a Lajos Szoboszlai is a graduate student in NAS graduate student in the working towards an MA. Linguistics department. His research focuses on He earned a BA in geopolitics and linguistics with a minor in indigenous cartography. studio art from UC Davis. Abel is utilizing He is interested in Harrington’s Nahuatl language revitalization, material for his own language learning and to and is working with contribute to the Harrington database project. Amah Mutsun Tribal Chair, Val Lopez. He is Gina Caison is a coding Yokuts notes, specifically, Tachi. graduate student in the English Undergraduate Students department with a Kelsey Capps is an Designated Emphasis undergraduate Linguistics in NAS. She received major, with minors in Italian an MA in English and NAS. Her research from University of interests are heritage Wisconsin-Milwaukee and a BA in English with a language and bilingual minor in Political Science from Auburn University. education. She has been Her research focuses on 19th century American coding and checking literature, and the cultures and literatures of the Fernandeño, Tubatulabal, U.S. South. She helps the Language Center by and Yokuts material. maintaining a database of the materials in its collection. Rebecca Gimlett is a Linguistics major. Her research Kristina Casper-Denman is a PhD candidate in interest is Native American NAS. She received an MA in Anthropology at language revitalization. She is Arizona State University. She teaches at American new to the Harrington Project River College and volunteers with the exhibit and assists with database entry committee at the Maidu Museum and Historic Site. and microfilm printing.