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A teacher and student review writing in Cherokee at the language immersion school in Tahlequah, Oklahoma.

In Congress, a Tribal Language

Bill Languishes WITH FEWER NATIVE SPEAKERS

AT EACH PASSING GENERATION,

A PROPOSED $ 5 MILLIO N GRANT

P R O G R A M C O U L D BOLSTER EFFORTS

TO SAVE IND IG EN O U S LANGUAGES

BY INCREASING NATIVE STUDENT

ACHIEVEMENT BY ITS FUTURE IS

UNCERTAIN IN THE NEW CONGRESS,

BY MALLORY BLACK (NAVAJO)

EACH M O R N IN G , MEDA N IX’S THIRD GRADE CLASS sings songs in Cherokee before the school day begins, setting the tone for the day at the Cherokee Immersion Charter School.

By the end of the school year, the students will be able to carry on con­ versations in Cherokee, Nix says, and by sixth grade, they will be fluent.

“I don’t know what they went through that morning before they came to school,” says Nix, a certified Cherokee speaker, “but I do know that once we sing, it just puts these kids in a better mood to learn.”

W ith 120 students in pre-kindergarten to eighth grade, the school in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, is key to restoring the number of fluent Cherokee speakers, which has dropped to roughly 3,000, says Chuck Hoskin Jr., Cherokee Nation Secretary of State.

One of the school administrator’s and tribal leaders’ biggest goals is to expand the program to include a high school curriculum.

The school is supported by a mix of state and tribal funds and follows grade level Oklahoma state standard curriculum.

“W hat we’re needing is resources,” says Chuck Hoskin Jr., Cherokee Nation Secretary of State. “We’re up against the same challenge that all Indigenous tribes and people are facing around the world, which is we’re losing our language.”

The opportunity for a Cherokee immersion high school could come with a proposed bill that would establish a $5 million federal grant pro­ gram next year to support tribal language immersion schools and nonprof­ its in Indian Country. U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, a Democrat from Montana who is the outgoing Senate Indian Affairs Committee Chairman, says the bill aims to reduce unemployment and improve Native student education.

But its prospects are uncertain in the new Congress. “The goals are to improve academic performance and lower the

dropout rate for Native American kids, and that’s done pretty effectively

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with language because it connects people back up with their culture,” Tester says.

According to the United Nations, 74 Native American languages are on track to disappear within the next decade. By 2050, only 20 of those languages will be spoken to some degree.

Research shows fewer children can speak their Native tongue with each passing generation. The U.S. Census Bureau reports only one in 10 Native American youth ages of 5 to 17 speak their Native language at home, compared with one in five people aged 65 and older.

It is unknown how many tribal immersion schools exist in the U.S. since most begin as small programs within the tribe and have a quick turnover rate. The Indigenous Languages Institute in Santa Fe, New Mexico is working to have a complete list of Native immersion schools by the end of 2015.

The Cherokee Immersion Charter School opened its doors in 2003, and students who were among the first to be immersed in the language are now freshman at nearby Sequoyah High School.

School officials say more federal resources could also help support two other major needs: salaries for teachers and classroom assistant and gen­ eral school operations. But approval of the bill would require the U.S. Department of Education to redistribute existing education funds.

Still, Ahniwake Rose, a member of the Cherokee Nation and execu­ tive director of the National Indian Education Association, says funding for immersion schools is a top priority voiced by many tribal leaders.

“Tribes are able to gather a certain amount of money, reach founda­ tions and other funding sources to start, but without sustainability, they close,” says Rose, who worked with Tester’s office to draft the bill. “This bill will allow our immersion programs to stay open, and what’s more important is that the longevity will allow us to have the data to show that these programs are working.”

No data exists yet to show increased academic performance at the Cherokee immersion school, but Principal Holly Davis says they’re working on it.

Last year the school translated the Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS), a comprehensive academic achievement test, into Cherokee for the first time. However administrators quickly realized the Cherokee test proved more difficult for students than the English version.

“It’s new and fresh for us, and we know we have a long way to go with that test, but we’ve got a starting point on it,” Davis says. “We’ve got to figure that out.” She admits testing is likely be the school’s biggest chal­ lenge since grantees would be required to submit annual reports each year.

School officials say most parents support the immersion program because they want to instill the language in their children for future gen­ erations. Davis says whether more federal support becomes available, the immersion school will continue to serve as an option for families who are otherwise limited.

“No one has to come to immersion,” Davis says, “but there are parents who choose to make language an important aspect of their home and their child’s life.”

Mallory Black (Navajo) is a freelance writer who lives in San Diego, Cali­ fornia. She recently interned with W B E Z Chicago Public Radio and holds a master o f journalism from the M edill School o f Journalism a t Northwestern University. She has reported in Chicago an d Washington, DC. Connect with her on Twitter: @mblack47.

A C C O R D IN G TO THE UNITED

NATIONS, 7 4 NATIVE A M E R IC A N

LANG UAG ES ARE O N TRACK

TO DISAPPEAR WITHIN THE NEXT

DEC ADE, BY 2 0 5 0 , ONLY 2 0

O F THOSE LANG UAG ES WILL BE

SPOKEN TO SO M E DEGREE.

A la s k a N a tiv e s S e e Progress in L a n g u a g e P reserv a tio n , V o tin g Rights

IN ALASKA, RECENT MOVES AT THE STATE LEVEL a n d in the courts have recognized the im po rta n ce o f Native languages a n d put them o n election ballots.

Last fall, then-Gov. Sean Parnell signed off on legislation to rec­ ognize 20 Alaska Native languages as official languages o f the state, including Inupiaq, Siberian Yupik, Central Alaskan Yup'ik, Alutiiq, Unangax, Dena'ina, Deg Xinag, Holikachuk, Koyukon, Upper Kuskokwim, Gwich'in, Tanana, Upper Tanana, Tanacross, Han, Ahtna, Eyak, Tlingif, Haida, a n d Tsimshian, in addition to English, However English will remain as the la n g u a g e for official business in Aaska. In Aaska. nearly 20 percent o f the p o p u la ­ tion identifies as American Indian a n d Aaska Native, a cco rd in g to th e U.S, Census,

Alaska state election officials are now required to translate c a n d id a te summaries, voting information a n d materials into Gwich'in a n d Yup'ik. In September, a federal ju d g e in Anchor­ a g e found the state had failed to provide Gwich'in or Yup'ik speakers translations o f voting information equivalent to w hat voters receive in English. "The court's decision marks a n im­ portant step towards ensuring that all voters in Aaska have an equal opportunity to exercise their fundam ental right to vote," said attorney James Tucker, who spoke on behalf of the four tribal councils a n d two Alaska Natives who filed the lawsuit, in a release from the Native American Rights Fund.

JAN UAR Y/FEBRU AR Y 2015 13

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