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Category Archives: Important Questions
Can Language Classes Help Keep Kids in School?
Until recently, I was unaware that the drop-out rate among American Indian and Alaska Native students is twice the national average. A number of factors make AI/AN youth less likely to graduate from high-school or college than students of any other … Continue reading
Posted in Important Questions, Uncategorized
Tagged Immersion, Luiseno, Michael Murphy, schools
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Language of “Occupy” Wall Street Protest Movement Offensive?
If you’ve been following current events at all, you’ve heard about the Occupy Wall Street protests in New York. In spite of criticism that the demonstrations lack a defined focus, similar demonstrations have ignited in over 600 communities in the … Continue reading
Posted in Important Questions, News, Uncategorized
Tagged (Un)Occupy Albuquerqe, Decolonize, Occupy Wall Street
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Indigenous Tweets
In our interconnected world, does the internet promote monoculturalism? While there are many reasons to believe that is the case, Kevin Scannell, professor of computational linguistics at Saint Louis University, believes that web-based social networking technologies can actually serve to … Continue reading
Posted in Important Questions, News, Preservation Programs, Uncategorized
Tagged internet, Kevin Scannell, Technology, tweet, Twitter, web
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Is a Connection to the Sacred Lost with Loss of Language?
Indian Country Today recently published an excellent article pointing out the relation many indigenous languages have to the sacred. Author Duane Champagne thoughtfully addresses the impact that language has on the way we interpret the world, arguing that English does … Continue reading
Posted in Important Questions, Language Theory, Uncategorized
Tagged identity, Indian Coutry Today, sacred
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Pamunkey of Virginia Petition for Federal Recognition
As we all know, the words we use define us as much as we use them to define the world around us. The issue of language retention among American Indian Tribes is a hot one for good reason. How much … Continue reading
Posted in Important Questions, News
Tagged federal recognition, Pamunkey, revitalization
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Native Language Honored or Exploited By Non-Natives?
Last week marked a tribal holiday for Navajo Code Talkers. These brave men served in World War II for U.S. forces, and developed a creative code based off of their Native language. The code was used as a way to … Continue reading
The Relationship between Language and Culture
It’s a question that’s been pondered for millennia: does language influence culture? Or is language just a way we express ourselves and our culture? Put differently, does the specific language that we learn from birth affect how we see the … Continue reading
Posted in Important Questions, Language Theory
Tagged culture, important questions, preservation, revitalization
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The Language of Language
We have great power in choosing the words we use to communicate. How we say what we say affects how we and others feel about what we are talking about. Sometimes, this is obvious—if I tell you I bought you … Continue reading
Posted in Important Questions, Preservation Programs
Tagged important questions, revitalization
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