Language is linked to culture and history in deeply significant ways. Language can reveal cultural ethics and values, social norms, and historical patterns, among many others. As quoted in Ngai (2006), George et all., (2000); Skutnabb-Kangas (1999) found that “death of languages results in the irretrievable loss of unique intellectual wealth for humankind.” Thus, the effects and implications of the loss of any language are significant and troubling. Language loss represents a huge loss for the international society and history as a whole. Therefore, language revitalization, which is the efforts to reverse language decline, should be of interest to all.
The United States is home to many of the world’s languages that are at risk of extinction. Of the 200 known indigenous Native American languages, only 57 are spoken by more than a few elders (Krauss 1998). While many Native American languages are facing the increasing possibility of dying out with each generation, some are making marked efforts to stop this process. Navajo is an example of a language that has experienced much loss, due to the forced influence of English throughout the years. Nevertheless, there have been continuous efforts over the past generation to revitalize the Navajo language and to make it sustainable and vibrant for generations to come. Varying theories exist about the best method for Navajo language revitalization, but some have proven less effective than others. The key to effective Navajo language revitalization lies in prioritizing language education as a means of assuring cultural-linguistic survival and obtaining cognitive and social benefits. Furthermore, language educational reform efforts must be led and supported by local community involvement and elevate the Navajo culture and language to be considered important and prideful.
The Navajo Community and the Risk of Navajo Language Loss
According to the 2000 US Census, there are an estimated 225,000 Navajo people living within the United States. An estimated 180,000 of these people live on the Navajo Nation, which spans over 25,000 square miles in Arizona, Utah, and New Mexico (Lee & McLaughlin, 2001 and The 21st Navajo Nation Council). Among other challenges due to poverty and high levels of unemployment, the Navajo community is also facing the continuous loss of the Navajo language (Spolsky 2002). Each generation, less and less people are learning the Navajo language due to cultural norms, expectations, and shame. This linguistic loss is directly connected with the loss of Navajo cultural pride and history.
The decline of the Navajo language has been caused by a multitude of factors that have billed English as the only desirable, beneficial language. An overarching term that can describe the root of the problem is linguistic imperialism, which encompasses the Western modernization of schools and the push for English to be adopted by all (Phillipson 1990, 1992 cited by Spolsky 2002). Currently, the Navajo Nation has little authority over the school systems, which are controlled by the Federal Bureau of Indian Affiars (BIA), a group that advocates strongly for English only schools. A couple generations ago, the BIA formed a national goal to integrate and unify all the Native American tribes through the widespread use of English, rather than native tribal languages. The first boarding school for Navajos was opened in Fort Defiance in 1882, where harsh and trauma-inducing punishments were dealt to those who failed to use English. The message that English is superior has spread, with English gaining exposure through roads and outside interaction and being associated with economic and social success. Therefore, due to the stigma and trauma associated with the Navajo language from these boarding schools, and the opportunity and success associated with the English language, many now see the Navajo language and culture as undesirable and shameful.
While schools have started to teach Navajo again in varying degrees of intensity, youth are not getting practice with the language outside of school, either. Navajo is largely a language of adults, and it is becoming increasingly rare for parents and grandparents to pass down the language to the youth due to shifting emphasis on English and previous experience with cultural shame. In order for language learning and revitalization to be successful, there must be a push from both the school system and the familial community to educate the youth.
Despite this lack of Navajo education and exposure due to historical, political, economic, and social factors, the hope for reversing the Navajo language decline lies in education of the youth. The Navajo community is significantly young, with a median age of 18 to 24 years old (Lee & McLaughlin 2001). In 2001, an estimate of 60,000 children were enrolled in school, with an additional 4,000 children enrolled in Head Start programs (Lee & McLaughlin 2001). Because of this significantly young demographic, there is a unique opportunity to reverse the language decline through investment in reforming Navajo youth’s educational experience by including bilingual and bicultural education.
Prioritizing Navajo Linguistic and Cultural Education and Pride
The community’s and educational system’s ability and decision to collectively prioritize Navajo youth language education in relevant ways that create a sense of pride and community is the key to successful Navajo revitalization. First, leaders and community members must view language preservation as necessary to tribal, community, and cultural perseverance. Spolsky (2002) states that language and education must be framed in the “full social, cultural, religious, and political context.” The education that is created must be multifaceted and complex, taking into account the multiple socio-historical processes that have created the current decline of and shame about the Navajo language.
Once consensus has been reached within the Navajo community about the best, most effective form of language education, it is absolutely essential that there is a belief shift from the rest of the United States to prioritize the preservation of the Navajo language. This shift is necessary due to the funding and regulations that outside groups control. Through advocacy and collaborative efforts, Navajo leaders can influence and convince outside officials that changes in Navajo education must be made, and that their support with funding is necessary to do so. Once all people in leadership positions are convinced that comprehensive, relevant language and cultural education is vital to the survival of the Navajo language, these changes can begin. Unfortunately, it is likely that creating a political and economic environment where all these changes can be executed will be perhaps the most challenging part of the process. Nevertheless, a collective vision amongst Navajo leaders about a language revitalization plan is a fundamental starting point.
The Benefits of Bilingualism
First, community members must understand the benefits that bilingualism carries in both cognitive and social realms. Cognitively, bilingualism allows people to be more creative and flexible in their thinking, as bilinguals have two or more words for any given object or idea. Furthermore, since bilingualism requires the need to attend to which language to speak in a particular situation, bilingual people are more cognizant about contextual cues and the needs of the listener. Studies, such as Bialystok and Majumder (1998), have shown that the advantage bilingual people have in cognitive control of attention abilities is transferrable to non-linguistic tasks. In this study, three linguistic groups of third graders participated in nonverbal problem solving tasks. An English speaking monolingual group was compared with a French English balanced bilingual group and a Bengali English partially bilingual group. All participants were similar on a number of measures except for their language background. The study found that the balanced bilingual French-English speakers performed much better on the control of attention, non-linguistic tasks than either of the other groups. To date, there has not been similar significant research done similarly of bilingual Navajo and English speakers. Nevertheless, the implications of this study are significant in illustrating an advantage that balanced bilingual people hold over monolingual people.
In addition to the cognitive benefits, bilingual people also carry a set of social and economic advantages. For example, bilingual people are able to relate to and learn from a much wider section of the population, as they can communicate clearly and fluently in two (or more) languages. Through bilingual reading and communication, people can gain knowledge and exposure to various cultures and values. This leads to a unique, deep understanding of different communities. Lastly, being bilingual also has a very practical benefit in employment. Bilingual individuals are more attractive job candidates for many careers that involve bicultural communication and exchange. Thus, bilingualism leads to immense benefits, which cross into realms of cognition, employment, and culture.
Various arguments have been made about the drawbacks to bilingual education. Some claim that bilingual education compromises a student’s English attainment, and thus, compromises a student’s ability to succeed to his or her fullest potential in an increasingly English dominated society. This issue entered into politics in 1998 when the California public sided against bilingual education. When Prop 227, “English Language in Public Schools,” passed with 61% approval, bilingual educational programs were cut from California public schools (1998 California Primary Election). Analysis shows that the passage of this bill was largely due to the idea that English only programs are better for a student’s intellectual development. However, Rock Point Community School provides a prime counterexample to this claim, revealing that bilingual educational programs can be effective in leading to student’s success in English.
Rock Point Community School: An Example of an Effective Navajo-English School
At the heart of the Navajo Reservation, Rock Point Community School was formed in 1967. In their paper, Vorih and Roiser (1978) extensively detail why Rock Point was successful in creating a bilingual Navajo-English school for youth. Over ninety percent of the children who enter Rock Point only spoke Navajo, or considered Navajo their dominant language. In 1970, students at Rock Point received 70 to 25 percent less English education instruction, depending on the grade level, than other students in English only programs. Nevertheless, Rock Point students performed better on standardized English reading tests than other students who were enrolled in the English only reservation programs. For example, Rock Point sixth graders had a mean English achievement score that was two times higher than their peers. Furthermore, scores in 1975 showed Rock Point students doing even better on standardized tests than the first studies in 1970, when its students were already performing better than their peers. These results indicate that Rock Point’s program facilitated much faster moving growth in English achievement, in addition to the maintenance of the Navajo language, than other Navajo reservation schools. Rock Point therefore serves as a counterexample to the common idea that bilingual education harms English development.
Due to these impressive scores, an investigation of Rock Point’s teaching methods is necessary in order to develop a plan for language education. From kindergarten to second grade, there are two teachers: one who teaches the students entirely in Navajo, and one who teaches the students entirely in English. In the kindergarten, 70% of the education is in Navajo, the majority of the student’s native language. From first to second grades, the time is equally split between English and Navajo. From the third to sixth grade, 75% of the instruction takes place in English. During these grades, the English language teacher has complete responsibility in the classroom, with students leaving in smaller groups to take Navajo specialty classes (on a variety of subjects such as literature and science) throughout the school day (Vorih and Roiser 1978).
It is important to recognize that the conditions in the late 1970s are much different from the conditions today. In the late 1970s, many more children were raised speaking Navajo, only to lose these skills by going to school. Now, however, most children are being raised speaking mainly English. Nevertheless, bilingual education would still be beneficial to educate the youth in Navajo. Since Rock Point proved successful in teaching the primarily Navajo speaking students English, the reverse should also hold true. Therefore, the Rock Point model would need to be modified to fit current times. These modifications might lead to a schooling with more emphasis on Navajo, as the students come in with less background knowledge and experience with Navajo.
Going Beyond Language Classes
It is clear that bilingualism has strong benefits and that Rock Point is a compelling example of the power of bilingual education. However, access to Navajo language classes by itself is not enough to ensure language revitalization. Because of the close ties between language, culture, and history, bilingual education must be coupled with family involvement, a feeling of cultural and linguistic pride, and a historical understanding of the significance and uniqueness of the Navajo people.
Isiah Plummer, a Stanford freshman who grew up on the Navajo Nation speaking both English and Navajo, articulates a specific connection between the Navajo language and culture: “The majority of our practices have songs and prayers in Navajo. Plus, all the older generations mainly speak Navajo. To really practice and understand your culture and history, you really just have to know Navajo” (I. Plummer, personal communication, June 5, 2010). Navajo is the basis of cultural and awareness and understanding, as it is the means to learn from older generations with life experience and insight into the struggles and triumphant culture. Furthermore, Navajo is necessary if one wants to participate in Navajo ceremonies and practices, which reveal much about cultural values and traditions. By pairing language classes with history classes, tradition-based experience, and family communication, students will understand the greater impact of learning and speaking Navajo. They will then have more motivation to take language learning seriously.
In commenting on this linguistic cultural connection, Darwin Yellowhair, a Stanford sophomore, who also grew up on the Navajo Nation, spoke about one of the biggest challenges that the community must overcome to revitalize the language. “We have to educate the younger generation about the importance of the Navajo language. The language is not respected because it’s not seen as important, especially on the Navajo Nation where 99% of the population is Navajo. They take it for granted until they leave the reservation…Then, they see the significance and the pride of being Native American. They learn about lost cultures. They learn how they can potentially become that lost culture,” said Yellowhair (D. Yellowhair, personal communication, June 5, 2010). Yellowhair’s comments indicate the need to teach Navajo youth early on (in elementary or middle school) about the implications of the language decline, and how dedication to their education has the immense potential to help revitalize the language. Thus, in addition to language classes, students must be taught, both inside and outside of school, that Navajo is a language worth knowing and an identity worth being proud about.
Community Wide Suggestions for Change
Ngai (2006) conducted grassroots research in order to collect community ideas about the best ways to reform the linguistic educational system. Through interviews with 89 participants from all backgrounds- Indian and non-Indian, professions ranging from politicians to educators- he found the suggestion for building a common language curriculum to be the most widely agreed upon and the most pressing. People overwhelmingly support a unifying, reservation wide language curriculum that makes meaningful connections between language, multiculturalism, Native American history studies, and identity. People are also interested in developing a specific week-by-week, day-by-day plan that incorporates the possibility for teacher flexibility. With a standard curriculum implemented across the reservation, people of all backgrounds and locations would have access to the reformed language and cultural education. In addition to language, history, stories, worldviews and values, and traditions, the comprehensive curriculum should also include lectures and activities relating to real Navajo practices and traditions. McLaughlin (1989) found that a genuine, traditional Navajo presence within the classroom—ranging from native speaking teachers to guest performances in Navajo song and dance—increased pride and motivation of the students present. This increases their interest in learning the language itself.
It is vital that the creation of this curriculum be grounded in the whole community’s input, as the curriculum’s results will ultimately depend on how well it is executed, which is likely tied to how much the educators believe in it. Furthermore, success will depend on how open the students are to learning the curriculum, which is tied to how relevant and interesting the educational materials are. Thus, the curriculum must be developed collectively and allow young people to understand language education as both necessary and compelling.
Language as Pride and Empowerment
The implications of reviving the Navajo language are extremely significant and reach much farther than simply the obtainment of more Navajo language speakers. Research and observational studies have shown that language education and literacy is linked to empowerment and self-confidence. For example, Vorih and Roiser (1978) reported that Rock Point students’ were rated as much more self-assured than their Navajo peers based on extensive observational accounts. People qualitatively rated them with descriptive words such as “active” and “involved.” In contrast, the common description of Navajo children consisted of words such as “listless, quiet, passive, and dumb” (Vorih and Roiser 1978). The students educated in the bi-cultural, bilingual Rock Point program were seen to be much more engaged and in possession of a much more positive self image. The implications of this attitude and belief shift are huge, as youth who have a positive sense of self and a strong motivation are much more likely to become involved with and achieve in their community or a particular passion. Through these changes, which are linked to bilingual and bicultural education, many opportunities for fulfillment and achievement will become available. These studies and conclusions reveal how integral language is to not only our communication and historical understanding, but also to our self-identity and self-image.
Furthermore, language is linked to empowerment through writing and connecting with older generations. Vorih and Roiser’s observations are echoed by McLaughlin (1989), who spent 400 hours observing and interviewing Native American, primarily Navajo, families. Many of the subjects for his study and interviews were connected to Rock Point and all resided in Mesa Valley, an isolated area on the Navajo reservation home to around 1600 people. McLaughlin (1989) emphasizes the need to teach written Navajo. He claims that it is not enough to simply verbally express a language; rather, full empowerment requires the ability to write. His research found that native literacy helps students understand who they are in their search for their identity. Moreover, it provides a window into learning about their traditional culture and community. He found an overwhelming interest within the Navajo community for Navajo language education: ¾ of the respondents believed that teaching Navajo is worthwhile. Furthermore, Yellowhair shared that “Navajo is empowering if you know the language because you can speak with the oldest generation of your family. They can give you pieces of wisdom that you can’t find anywhere else. That’s empowering” (D. Yellowhair, personal communication, June 5 2010). Overall, speaking and writing Navajo is empowering because it contributes to a better sense of self and education from elders.
Conclusions: Best Methods and the Link Between Language, Culture, and Self-Identity-
Due to the many factors needed for success, language revitalization requires going beyond the commonly suggested bilingual educational program. In addition to well thought out, widely accessed language programs, community members (especially youth) must also be taught that the Navajo language is important and prideful to know. As Yellowhair said, “We should be proud of who we are. There are so many cultural aspects of our lives that we should really embrace because it’s really unique to the rest of the world” (D. Yellowhair, personal communication, June 5 2010). This is really the state of mind that all education should be working towards. Once pride in an identity and language is established, the learning and the application will be much more natural. Due to the multilayered effects of language knowledge, it only makes sense that the revitalization goals be accomplished through the functioning of a complex educational system, incorporating many different aspects of life and society.
Language ability can lead to self-awareness, pride, and full empowerment. Thus, educating Navajo students in the Navajo language has the potential to inspire them to actively engage in other areas of their education and their community. Language education and revitalization preserves history and culture, while also motivating youth to take action in a multiplicity of ways. Comprehensive, well-rounded Navajo-English education that is reinforced through community practices and involvement must be implemented. By doing so, the Navajo language, and the many histories, cultures, and forces of empowerment that it embodies, will be saved and passed down for generations to come.
References
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