Category Archives: Important Questions

Members of Your Community May be Eligible for Language Assistance at the Polls November 6!

Posted on October 12, 2012 by Basla Andolsun

Are you planning on voting this year? American Indians have among the lowest voting rates of all ethnic groups in the US, and it’s no accident that this in the case. American Indians were the last group, behind African Americans and … Continue reading →

Posted in Important Questions, News, Uncategorized | Tagged , | Leave a comment

How Should We View Missionary Work?

Posted on May 21, 2012 by Basla Andolsun

The Vatican announced earlier this month that Bishop Frederic Baraga, best known for his missionary work among the Anishinaabeg in the early-to-mid-1800′s, is venerable. Unless you’re a Catholic, you probably don’t know what it means to be officially “venerable.” Not … Continue reading →

Posted in Important Questions, News, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Can Language Classes Help Keep Kids in School?

Posted on March 23, 2012 by Basla Andolsun

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 , , , | 1 Comment

Language of “Occupy” Wall Street Protest Movement Offensive?

Posted on October 24, 2011 by Basla Andolsun

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 , , | Leave a comment

Indigenous Tweets

Posted on August 2, 2011 by Basla Andolsun

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 , , , , , | Leave a comment

Is a Connection to the Sacred Lost with Loss of Language?

Posted on June 3, 2011 by Basla Andolsun

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 , , | Leave a comment

Pamunkey of Virginia Petition for Federal Recognition

Posted on October 26, 2010 by Basla Andolsun

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 , , | 1 Comment

Native Language Honored or Exploited By Non-Natives?

Posted on August 20, 2010 by Heather Shuttleworth

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 →

Posted in Important Questions | Tagged | 1 Comment