The persecution and revival of Native

American langages and culture

WILLIAM SIMMONS
HIS 206
PROFESSOR HOWARD
10 MAY 2015

Historical background of Amerindian languages

Rehling writes that before European contact, there were at
least 250 different languages spoken in North America, and
that may have thousands of those Amerindian langauges
(Rehling, n.d.).
Rehling also mentions that nearly 90% of the original number
of speakers of Native American languages have disappeared.
There were 9 major language groups spoken in the United
States alone (Rehling, n.d.).

The difficulty of survival for Native American

langauges
NATIVE AMERICANS WERE PERSECUTED SIMPLY FOR BEING DIFFERENT
FROM EUROPEANS FOR HUNDREDS OF YEARS, THE DAWES-SEVERALTY
ACT, NON-CITIZENSHIP AND FORCED EUROPEAN AMERICAN RECLAMATION
OF LAND DESTROYED NATIVE AMERICAN LANGUAGES AND CULTURES
(BARNES & BOWLES, 2014). AFTER BEING SUPPRESSED FOR SO LONG,
NATIVE AMERICANS FOUGHT BACK HARD. EVENTS LIKE THE ALCATRAZ
OCCUPATION, THE NATIVE AMERICAN POWER MOVEMENT AND
INVASION OF WOUNDED KNEE SHOWED THEIR EFFORTS AND
STRENGTH, WHICH GRANTED THEM RIGHTS, AND PROTECTED
AMERINDIAN LANGUAGES FOR GENERATIONS TO COME.

Native American boarding schools and the forced

assimilation into English
THE 1890S AND THE CLOSING OF THE FRONTIER MEANT
LARGE CHANGES FOR NATIVE AMERICAN CULTURE.
AFTER SEVERAL DECADES OF FIGHTING FOR THEIR
LAND, WOUNDED KNEE AND THE GHOST POWER
MOVEMENT, THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT SOUGHT TO
PLACE ALL NATIVE AMERICANS IN BOARDING SCHOOLS
IN ORDER TO ASSIMILATE INTO WHITE AMERICAN
CULTURE.
SPEAKING ANY NATIVE AMERICAN LANGUAGE WAS
STRICTLY FORBIDDEN, AND DOING SO COULD LAND
ANY OF THE STUDENTS INTO A LOT OF TROUBLE. ONE
NATIVE AMERICAN SAID THAT THEY WERE MADE TO
HATE THEIR CULTURE, DESPISE THEIR LANGUAGE AND
LOOK DOWN UPON WHERE THEY CAME FROM (BARNES
& BOWLES, 2014).
WOO WRITES THAT CHESTER NEZ, THE LAST OF THE
NAVAJO CODE TALKERS HAD TO BRUSH HIS TEETH WITH

(Carlisle, 1900)

The Impact of the Laws of the Republic of Hawaii

on local language use

LUCAS DISCUSSES HOW THE HAWAIIAN LANGUAGE WAS OFFICIAL IN THE

KINGDOM OF HAWAII. ACCORDING TO LUCAS, MOST OF THE NATIVE POPULATION
WAS EVEN ABLE TO READ AND WRITE HAWAIIAN.
HE WRITES THAT A MAIN ADVOCATE FOR ENGLISH AS THE OFFICIAL LANGUAGE,
RICHARD ARMSTRONG, PETITIONED TO HAVE ENGLISH BE THE MAIN LANGUAGE
AND ESTABLISHED THE FIRST ENGLISH-MEDIUM SCHOOL (LUCAS, 2000).
AFTER THE NEW REPUBLIC WAS ESTABLISHED IN 1896, ENGLISH WAS DECLARED
AS THE SOLE OFFICIAL LANGUAGE OF HAWAII. NEWSPAPERS HAD DECLINED
FROM 12 TO NONE IN 1943, AND THE AMOUNT OF HAWAIIAN-MEDIUM SCHOOLS
HAD BEEN WIPED OUT TO ZERO BY 1902. LUCAS MENTIONS THAT IT WAS NOT
UNTIL 1965 THAT THEIR STATE LEGISLATURE REPEALED THESE LAWS (LUCAS,
2000).

Navajo on the world stage for codetalkers in the

Second World War

GENERAL PHILLIP JOHNSTON SENT A

LETTER TO CONGRESS ASKING THAT
THEY USE NAVAJO FOR WORLD WAR II
CODE EFFORTS. THIS WAY, NO GERMAN
OR JAPANESE FORCE COULD BREAK THE
CODE. THIS GAVE THE NAVAJOS
NEWFOUND STRENGTH AND RESPECT AS
THEY SERVED THEIR COUNTRY WITH
THEIR TRIBAL LANGUAGE (JOHNSTON,
1942).
THE LANGUAGE DEVELOPED A WRITTEN
FORM (WOO, 2014), AND WOULD SET
THE BASIS FOR LANGUAGE GROWTH AND
VICTORY IN WORLD WAR II.

(Untitled Photograph, Retrieved from:

http://www.bing.com/images/search?
q=navajo+code+talkers+alphabet&view=detailv2&id=B8
20D660C8ED1C5EB02C2129EB1C881E05F9B817&sel
ectedindex=11&ccid=SgOE
%2FzAb&simid=608006536036290107&thid=JN.lysNUc
d2e9hzLZ5CtP9TCg&mode=overlay&first=1

Factors leading up to the Alcatraz Occupation

(Hartman, 1969)

IN 'WE HOLD THE ROCK', THEY MENTIONED THAT THE

1953 TERMINATION ACT EFFECTIVELY HAD THE GOAL OF
WIPING OUT NATIVE AMERICANS. ONE NATIVE AMERICAN
SAID THAT "THE ONLY TRANSLATION FOR [TERMINATION]
WAS [TO WIPE OUT; EXTERMINATE]".
THE ACT RELOCATED NATIVE AMERICAN INTO URBAN
AREAS WITH THE PROMISE OF JOB TRAINING, AN
APARTMENT, IN ORDER TO ASSIMILATE INTO AMERICAN
SOCIETY. IT EFFECTIVELY ENDED ALL RESERVATIONS, THE
BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS AND ALL FEDERAL SUPPORT
OF NATIVE AMERICANS (2014, "WE HOLD THE ROCK").
THIS ANGERED MANY OF THEM, BECAUSE THEIR
CULTURES AND LANGUAGES WOULD BE DESTROYED
QUICKLY AS THE RESULT OF THIS LEGISLATION.

The Alcatraz Occupation and its impact on Native

American culture

VARIOUS NATIVE AMERICANS DISCUSSED

THEIR ROLES IN ALCATRAZ. THEY WANTED
TO BUILD A CENTER FOR WORSHIP, ONE
FOR EDUCATION, A CULTURAL ONE TO LET
THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT KNOW THAT
THEY ARE PEOPLE, THAT THEIR CULTURE IS
DISTINCT AND THAT THEY ARE THE FIRST,
ORIGINAL PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES.
INDIANS OF ALL TRIBES (IAT) WANTED
NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE FEDERAL
GOVERNMENT FOR THEIR RIGHTS. IAT
STOOD THEIR GROUND AND STAYED ON
THEIR ISLAND UNTIL FEDERAL MARSHALS
ORDERED THEM OFF IN 1971(2014, "WE
HOLD THE ROCK").

(Maggiora, 1969)

The Native American Language Act of 1990

THIS ACT, PASSED IN 1990 WAS THE SUPREME LEGISLATION THAT GAVE
NATIVE AMERICANS THE RIGHT TO USE THEIR LANGUAGE IN ANY
CIRCUMSTANCE, FROM COURTS TO EDUCATION.
THIS GAVE NATIVE AMERICANS THE CHANCE TO LIVE THEIR SOCIETIES
IN THE AMERINDIAN LANGUAGE THEY CHOSE, WITHOUT INTERFERENCE
FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.
THE ACT ALSO ADDRESSED THE HISTORICAL WRONGDOINGS OF THE
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IN REGARD TO THEIR LINGUISTIC RIGHTS, AND
APOLOGIZED FOR THEIR HISTORICAL TREATMENT OF NATIVE
AMERICANS LANGUAGES.

The Native American Power Movement

revitalization of culture

TO FIGHT EXTREME POVERTY, LOW

EDUCATION RATES, POLICE BRUTALITY
AND CULTURE DECLINE, NATIVE
AMERICANS STARTED MANY MOVEMENTS
SUCH AS THE RED POWER MOVEMENT,
AND THE AMERICAN INDIAN MOVEMENT
(DIGITAL HISTORY, 2014).
THESE MOVEMENTS INCLUDED FISHING
PROTESTS (FISH-INS), COUNTLESS
LAWSUITS RECLAIMING LAND AND
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF BROKEN
TREATIES, MARCHES AND PROTESTS
(DIGITAL HISTORY, 2014)

(Sherve, 2014)

Outcomes of Native American Language Events

THE NAVAJO LANGUAGE HAD NO WRITTEN FORM BEFORE THE
CODETALKERS PROGRAM IN THE SECOND WORLD WAR STARTED.
THE SECOND WORLD WAR GAVE NAVAJO A CHANCE TO DEVELOP
A WRITTEN FORM (WOO, 2014).
A SOCIAL ACTIVIST IN THE ALCATRAZ OCCUPATION
DOCUMENTARY 'WE HOLD THE ROCK' MENTIONED THAT THEIR
LANGUAGES HAD STARTED A TREND OF REVIVAL BY VIRTUE OF
THE ALCATRAZ OCCUPATION (2014, "WE HOLD THE ROCK").

BIBLIOGRAPHY
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Image credits
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