Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 10, Number 7, 1 Iulai 1993 — Native Americans agree ... [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Native Americans agree ...

Culture and language are inseparable

by JefT Clark Language is the most important aspect of culture, but not so important that it ean exist independent of culture. That was the clear message of two native languages conferences held at the University of Hawai'iHilo in late May: the Polynesian

Languages Forum and the Native American Languages Issues Institute Conference (NALI). Both were co-hosted by 'Aha Pūnana Leo, ine. and the UH-Hilo Hawaiian studies department, and cosponsored by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and Ka-

mehameha Schools. In his message to the confer-

enee, OHA chairman Clayton Hee said, "'O ka māhele mana loa i loko ona e 'ike 'ia ai ka mo'omeheu o ka Hawai'i, 'o ia ka 'ōlelo. Ma ka 'ōlelo Hawai'i 'ana, pēlā e 'ike ia ai ko ka Hawai'i hahai 'ana i kona mēheuheu iho, 'o ia ho'i, ke 'ōlelo Hawai'i ka Hawai'i, puka

mai ka mana'o H a w a i ' i . (Language is the most powerful expression of our culture. Speaking Hawaiian identifies us as Hawaiians practicing our culture: when we speak Hawaiian, we think Hawaiian.)"

Teacher Maxine Thomas of the Oneida Trial School in

Wisconsin said that language instruction must include a cultural element. Stripped of its cultural context, the language becomes an addition to English. For example, when she was taught the word for eom, she thought it simply meant "corn." But she later learned the word's literal

meaning was "mother's milk," whieh emphasizes the impor-

tance of the sta- A ple food to its M people. "I Ē didn't know I about my eul- 1 ture - I \ thought we \

were 'Indians.'" Kenny Weatherwax, a Blackfeet from Montana, said discussing contemporary, often controver-i

sial cultural subjects is an Ē effective way of teaching the J language. Talking about things like the return of ancestral bones from museums to sacred resting places instills students with the idea that their culture is in danger. Henee, leaming their language takes on a sense of urgency. Weatherwax also said that it's good when this type of information is shared between tribes and peoples. He applauded gettogethers like the language eonference, by whieh "you'll know what's going on with us, we'll know what's going on with you. and we ean help eaeh other out." Kaipo Frias, in a workshop on using stories and legends to teach Hawaiian, said that to really understand the language and the

culture one must "live it. We teach the children to do this so they won't have to go to the university and leam it." As is often the case when tribe meets 'ohana, there were some ear-opening exchanges between

^^^Native Americans and Hawaiians. Hawaiians who think it will be too hard to leam Hawaiian ean take comfort by considering that Dene (Chipewyan), a language spoken by the Navajo, ranks as the world's third-most difficult language to speak - it has 39 consonants and 116 vowel sounds. Dene is so complicated that Navajos used it to write secret codes for the United States during World War II. Kauanoe Kamanā, associate Hawaiian studies professor, luna ho'okele (director) of Hale Kuamo'o and luna ho'okele pelekikena (president) of 'Aha Pūnana Leo, said that when Tahitians or other South Pacific Islanders eome to Hawai'i, speakers of Hawaiian ean to some extent understand them, as their languages are not that different. But, she noted, Indian

tribes living relatively close to eaeh other may have languages that are completely different. Anita Bruce, who oversees the Asian, European and Pacific languages program in the DOE Office of Instructional Services, said she had been under the impression

that Hawai'i was way

behind Indian eommunities in native laneuaee education. But

after talking with people at the NALI conference she realized that the contrary is true, and that Pūnana Leo and the DOE are really setting the standard. Nāmaka Rawlins, one of the conference organizers and director of Hale Kāko'o (the Pūnana Leo support center), agreed. "A Iot of time you tend to look outside to see what's happening, but it's actually happening right here in Hawai'i, and others are looking to us for guidance. We are very proud of that." Said OHA culture specialist Manu Boyd, "Ten years ago, before any immersion programs were in plaee, the core group of Hawaiian teachers looked to Indian tribes for leadership and guidance. We have tumed everything around so mueh that the Indians are now looking to the Hawaiians because of these flagship programs."

^ Naghunek oelileh. [Carrier, spoken by the Sai-Kuz of Canada.[

Kahkitsksiniipkitsipoowahsin. \ 1 ' [Blackfeet] ■ E a'o i kou 'ōlelo 'ōiwi. I

Leam your language

Namaka Rawlins

Nā Kūpuna Amelika maoli (Native American elders) Velma Frank and Geraldine Jim, of the Confederate Tribes of Warm Springs, attended the NALI confrence. Photo by Jeff Clark