special issue: indigenous languages and indigenous literatures || rethinking native american...

Rethinking Native American Language RevitalizationAuthor(s): Frederick WhiteSource: American Indian Quarterly, Vol. 30, No. 1/2, Special Issue: Indigenous Languages andIndigenous Literatures (Winter - Spring, 2006), pp. 91-109Published by: University of Nebraska PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4138914 .

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Rethinking Native American Language Revitalization

FREDERICK WHITE

As many linguists continue to work with and analyze First Nations/ Native American languages, the consensus opinion usually direly predicts the loss of daily use for almost all of the extant Indigenous languages.' Tremendous efforts are being expended for renewing, revitalizing, and

restoring these languages to everyday use. The model upon which much Native American language renewal research is based-second language acquisition or second language learning (henceforth-sLA/L)-at first

seemingly provides relevant correspondence with the ensuing attributes, but I will argue that the SLA/L models of characteristics do not apply to Native American language acquisition/ learning circumstances.

Reversing language shift and language loss is a crucial issue in many Native American communities. In Canada First Nations communities are currently experiencing critical shift and loss. The 1991 census in

Canada reports disturbingly low numbers of fluent ancestral language speakers. Historically, cultural opposition, enforced assimilation, government exploitation, and missionaries succeeded in reducing the use of

many Native American languages. These efforts not only strove to eliminate Native American languages but the culture of their speakers as well. The main tool used in reducing and eliminating ancestral language use was formal education within a strict English-only setting. The residential schools' legacy encompasses not only the transition to a formal education setting but the systematic eradication of the culture of each First Nations student.2

Only within the last quarter of the twentieth century have the

Canadian and American governments implemented efforts to address the problem of reversing language shift among its Indigenous people.

AMERICAN INDIAN QUARTERLY/WINTER & SPRING 2006/VOL. 30, NOS. 1 & 2 91



Currently, the problem for the majority of the First Nations communities across Canada is the absence of any speakers acquiring the ancestral

language as a mother tongue.3 Children are simply not learning their an-

cestral language. Lack of community efforts exacerbates the problem, and more often than not the main effort to salvage Native American lan-

guages falls on the local school board. The result is that many Native American students now learn or study their ancestral language only as a

second language within a school context. The problem is that when Na- tive American students study a language in school, it usually stays in the school.

Reversing language shift is crucial, but a paradigm that recognizes the

limitations of SLA/L theories and methodologies in regard to Native American Indigenous languages is necessary. The characteristics of SLA/L

models have salient implications that demand rethinking the content

and context of what is happening on reserves and reservations of Native

American communities. In this article I provide a brief review of re-

search on North American Indigenous languages and assess the applica-

bility of SLA/L characteristics upon current Indigenous languages. I con-

clude with recommendations to reconsider further research among Indigenous communities apart from the SLA/L paradigm.

A BRIEF HISTORICAL BACKGROUND ON NATIVE AMERICAN

LANGUAGES

A very brief historical background of research and linguistic endeavors

among First Nations/Native Americans culminates in the early part of

twentieth century when Franz Boas began to systematically document

First Nations/Native American languages.4 His approach, as well as that

of his prot6ges, was to provide a grammar of the language in order to rec-

ord the tremendous intricacies that he assumed would be found in the

languages that were studied. The methodology provided a phonological, lexical, and syntactical analysis as well as some narratives that were tran-

scribed and translated with a representative dictionary for reference.5

The later work in the field represented efforts at analyzing and catego-

rizing the languages into linguistic families in order to have a speculative basis for understanding the diversity and dispersal of the languages.6 The result was a body of work that looked at the languages for the sake of classification, and though a central part of the research analyzed the

92 White: Rethinking Native American Language Revitalization



similarities of the languages among First Nations/Native American

peoples, only a trace of actual language usage was studied. The ensuing efforts confirmed the categorization of the various languages that were studied or explicated certain phonological, lexical, or grammatical processes that verified or challenged the subsequent classification of the

language. The current research has an ethnographic exposition of communica-

tion approach that has resulted largely from the work of Dell Hymes.7 In this approach the focus takes into account factors of the fields' predeces- sors, including the role of physical analysis and general categorization, but it also looks at how language was then used in the local community among the members of the community. Karl Kroeber, Paul Kroskrity, and Dennis Tedlock, to name just a few, all exemplify the current trend of Native American language research and exposition that focus on ex-

plication/usage of the ancestral language in particular communities.8 The ensuing trend also began to include the study of Native American

peoples learning English. The main model supporting the research of In-

digenous communities learning English has usually been based on the

SLA/L model, and, as such, prescriptions for teaching and classroom

methodology conform heuristically to this model. While the research uncovered important information, the SLA/L model is inappropriate for

many reasons. In the next section I explore some SLA/L claims and apply them to the Native American language situations. I then offer an analysis that will suggest a path for further research among Native Americans.

APPLYING SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION/LEARNER

CHARACTERISTICS TO NATIVE AMERICANS

There are many aspects of SLA/L that could be considered, but I want to

specifically look at the characteristics that usually accompany most SLA/L research contexts. In this analysis, it is expedient to limit the discussion to the two aspects of socio-psychological variables and environmental factors in order to provide a basis for comparison. These two aspects govern much of the SLA/L characteristics that scholars consider in their research.

The SLA/L research to date has had tremendous achievements in un-

derstanding the SLA/L field, especially in regard to English as a second

language. Prominent research has provided the field with models that




have spawned further research and that continues to influence the current thought and research in the field.9 The following list provides environmental and socio-psychological aspects that affect SLA/L, including:

1. Target language learners are foreigners 2. Intended length of residence

3. Age of arrival

4. Social distance

5. Enclosure 6. Social dominance

7. Similarities of cultures 8. Language of wider communication

9. Instrumental/integrative motivation

10o. Communicative need

The list is broad, but it is by no means exhaustive and simply serves to elucidate the contrast of First Nations/Native American language situations.

It was within this SLA/L paradigm that much of the work among Native American communities was originally constructed, and the focus of the work was how the students on the reservations/reserves were learn-

ing/acquiring English or how they were participating in the Ameri-

can/Canadian school systems.'0 The results of the studies based on the

SLA/L model and characteristics then provided the basis for the research of Native Americans trying to learn their ancestral language as a second

language. Though this is where the research currently stands, very little

research combines the notions of Native student participation and learn-

ing styles in regard to learning the ancestral language, but the efforts have

produced important information that will benefit a recontextualization of the current paradigm. I would like to consider some of these SLA/L characteristics in light of the peculiarities of Native American circumstances and comment on the applicability of such a paradigm to their

communities.

First, the target language in most SLA/L contexts is usually the

language of the country. Studies in Canada, for example, looked at the

immersion programs of Anglophones learning French." The target

language, French, was usually foreign to the student (though in Canada's

situation it is one of the official languages, French is considered quite

foreign outside of Quebec except in small pockets of communities).




The comparison of the Native American ancestral language learning conditions reveals that the Native Americans are neither immigrants nor foreigners. Historically some Native Americans were removed and

displaced, but they could not be considered foreigners according to

this SLA/L model. Thus, this important aspect does not apply in this situation.12

The intended length of residence and age of arrival confirm the "for-

eignness" of the second language learner (SLL) as both aspects clearly imply that the learner is not from the area, has arrived at a certain age (not birth), and may not necessarily intend to stay very long in the area. In contrast, Native Americans have been here before anyone else, and it

is not too likely that any of them are likely to exodus anytime soon. The factor of social distance includes attributes that affect the

SLL'S perception of "(1) distance between themselves and their countrymen in general, (2) distance between themselves and the members of the target culture in general, and (3) distance between their countrymen and the members of the target culture." 13 The aspect of enclosure,

according to Schumann, refers to the environment of the SLL: Is s/he surrounded by his or her own group? 4 Or, do they speak only their first language (different from the target language) in this community? The idea of enclosure suggests that it is possible to be in an environment that effectively functions as a subcommunity in a different language. With many of the reserves and reservations, there is definitely an Indige- nous culture that provides distance from the surrounding culture, but

English is the main language for most reserves/reservations and so there is a conflict of cultures. The result is that the ancestral language suffers from disuse even though there is an opportunity to use it in the com-

munity. There is social distance from the Native American ancestral

language even on the reserve/reservation because of the dominance of

English. The social dominance aspect refers to the status of the SLL in the soci-

ety in which he is learning the second language. Schumann provides three categories that suggest the SLL'S social status will be one of domi-

nance, non-dominance, or subordinate, each having its own influence on SLA/L. Schumann also suggests that the similarity of cultures can foster negative impact on the SLA/L process. In most current Native Ameri-

can SLA/L contexts, English is the dominant language, and even though the reserves/reservations provide an opportunity for the ancestral

AMERICAN INDIAN QUARTERLY/WINTER & SPRING 2006/VOL. 30, NOS. 1 8& 2 95



language to be dominant, it leaves the Native American SLL in a subordinate position. The blending of cultures through English also provides negative impact upon learning the ancestral language because the ancestral language is usually considered inferior or has a very low status

among the Native American people. The final aspects concern the environment and the effect of motiva-

tion upon learning the target language. The language of wider communication is simply the language that everyone uses in the community or the country. The integrative motivation suggests the SLL wants to iden-

tify with another ethnolinguistic group, whereas the instrumental motivation is utilitarian in nature. These final aspects can have interesting application for the Native American language situations, but only in rare circumstances will the ancestral language have the distinction of being the language of wider communication. The motivations are usually based upon factors that do not include returning to the ancestral lan-

guage of one's people, though the integrative motivation can foster a sense of the application because many Native Americans want to learn their ancestral language to identify more completely with their history. The instrumental factor suggests that there is an academic, economic, or social component that will benefit from learning the second language, but with Native American ancestral languages there is little such motivation for most people on the reserves/reservations.

A CLOSER LOOK AT THE ACCULTURATION MODELS

The acculturation model suggests that there are psychological and social variables that determine the ability to gain competence in a second lan-

guage. The model has been applied to many different situations, and the

subjects of the application have been considered immigrants (native

speakers of Spanish in Los Angeles; Japanese; students with/without

prior exposure to English; instructed/uninstructed learners; older/

younger learners) with varying intended lengths of residence. In this section I will employ the model on nonimmigrant subjects, the Haida of Haida Gwaii (Queen Charlotte Islands, northwest coast of British

Columbia) and the New Mexico Tewa. The major tenet of the acculturation model suggests that acculturation

to the target language group is a salient factor in determining the outcome in learning the target language. This factor considers two different




types of acculturation, observed by Larsen-Freeman and Long. Type 1 acculturation is one in which learners are

both socially integrated into the target language group and psychologically open to the target language. The first factor means that they have enough contacts with speakers for them to acquire the L2; the second means that the input to which these contacts expose them becomes intake. In Type Two acculturation, learners are socially integrated and psychologically open, but also consciously or unconsciously wish to adopt the lifestyle and values of the target- language group.'5

The two different types of acculturation will be very important factors in discussing the two tribes, as will be shown later. The variables that will be incorporated in this comparison will be the social variables of dominance, subordination, assimilation, preservation, enclosure, cohesiveness, size, congruence, attitude, and intended length of residence. The affective variables that will be considered include language shock, cultural shock, motivation, and ego permeability.

HAIDA AND ARIZONA TEWA TRIBAL HISTORIES

The Haida are located on the islands they call Haida Gwaii, homeland of the Haida, off the northwest coast of British Columbia and the southern tip of Alaska. They have inhabited these islands for approximately lo,ooo years.'6 It has only been within the last 150 years that they have had sustained contact with the Canadian-Europeans. The extreme loca- tion of the islands has kept much of the contact with the Canadian- Europeans to a minimum until the formation of the province of British Columbia in the 186os, at which time all the land was then suddenly "crown colony," which meant that the government now laid claim to all the land regardless of the presence of numerous tribes. This governmental colonization culminated in 1871 when British Columbia became part of the British Dominion of Canada. At this point in the Haida history, the steady stream of contact with governmental geological surveyors, merchants, and missionaries began.

The period of 186o0-9o in the Haida history is filled with tremendous loss. During this period their population of approximately ten thousand was devastated by a smallpox epidemic that reduced the population to




less than lo percent of its original number to less than eight hundred

people. It was during this devastation that changes began that would alter the culture of the Haida forever. The shamans were unable to deal with the onslaught of the disease, and as the Haida were turning to West- ern medicine to deal with the problem, even the shamans recognized their powerlessness and conceded that the doctors have greater power than they did to heal. It is also during this period that the tribe was convinced of their need for Christ, and the remaining Haidas willingly accepted Christianity in light of the shaman's loss of power and the

apparent provision of medical superiority concerning the smallpox epidemic.17

This period culminates as the transition to English begins to take place amongst the Haida. By the early 19oos the church services, which were

usually conducted completely in Haida (with translations of portions of the Bible into Haida), began to decline in attendance, while the other services, which were completely in English (by the request of the Haida), had greater attendance.'8 The transition to English continued when the

obligatory reform schools were enforced upon the Haida and the children were taken away from their parents' homes and brought to the school. It was common for the modus operandi of these schools to en- force an English-only policy that was strictly adhered to with swift cor-

poral punishment for anyone who spoke Haida. The initial result of this

methodology was student silence because of the lack of skills in English and the desire to avoid being punished. The schools were segregated until the 1950s, when integration was finally allowed. The significance of this date marks the continual contact with native English speakers who were not teachers or Haidas, even though English had been the first lan-

guage for many of the Haidas since the turn of the century. Though the transition to English was a combination of the Haidas'

willingness for survival during the smallpox epidemic, their interest in trade, their acceptance of Christianity, and their enforced induction into the residential schools, speaking Haida was maintained amongst a small

percentage of the population who experienced residential schools during the 1920s until the 195os. They are the ones who are now interested in the revitalization of Haida amongst their children and children's children. It is estimated that less than 20 percent of the total current Haida population of five thousand can boast of knowledge of Haida, and of that number only a modicum would consider themselves fluent in Haida.'9




The Tewa are descendants of the Rio Grande Pueblos; at the first

complete census taken in 168o, approximately twenty communities had a

population amounting to twenty-five thousand persons. In the years prior to the census, the Tewa were continually resisting the Spanish, culminating in an insurrection in the same year of the census in which the Tewa killed or drove out the Spanish from their area temporarily. The persistence of the Spanish eventually overpowered the resistance. It was mainly through the effort of the Franciscans, who were intolerant of the Tewa cultural practices and sought to eliminate the "idolatrous and pagan" customs, that the Tewa were taught Spanish and Catholi-

cism.20 The Franciscans did not learn or try to learn the Tewa language and physically punished anyone who did not attend religious services;

they also punished the Tewa for indulging in their own ceremonial

dancing. The contact ultimately resulted in the Tewa becoming a bilingual

community of Spanish and Tewa. But there was a very sharp distinction between the two cultures in daily life. The Tewa managed to keep much of their cultural practices despite the tremendous pressure to forsake their customs. They merely assented to the form of Spanish Catholicism and kept the important elements of their own culture separate from what

they were forced to assimilate into their lives. They would speak Spanish only when necessary and would refer to locations by their Tewa names instead of Spanish. The interesting factor of their bilingualism is the Tewa resistance to incorporating more than a few loan words into their own language. Though many new concepts of Spanish or Mexican de- scent are prevalent amongst the Tewa, they are subjected to the Tewa

process of word building. They are not referred to by the Spanish terms but by the newly formed Tewa terms.

Today the Tewa are essentially a trilingual community numbering approximately 4,500; they have added English to their repertoire of Tewa and Spanish. But even in this modern setting the Tewa are still resistant to code-switching. The resistance stems from the desire to

keep the languages separate, and with the repertoire of two languages, the tendency to mix the language is met with disdain. Some have considered this resistance as "extreme ethnocentrism," but as Kroskrity ob-

serves, "it was not bilingualism itself that was so devalued, but rather the

language mixing, or linguistic interference, which bilingualism could

produce."21




Historically, it is interesting to note that though the Tewa have been

through two periods of enforced assimilation (Spanish earlier, and now

English), they still maintain their native tongue with tremendous

passion. Though they have evidence of borrowing from Spanish and

English, when it is recognized, it is avoided passionately.

APPLICATION OF THE ACCULTURATION MODELS

The first variables to consider are dominance and subordination, in which we observe that both the Haida and the Tewa are basically in a subordinate position. The difference between the Haida and the Tewa is that the Haida were willing recipients of, or at least were not resistant to, their subordinate position. The Haida were losing confidence in aspects of their own culture as the evidence of disregard for the shamans and the

openness to Western medicine reveals. The Haida also had a tremendous market of trade that had begun, and the Haida disposition for wealth and materialism furnished their willingness to be subordinate to the dominance of the Canadian-European culture. The Tewa were not willing to be religiously or politically subordinate, and their history of resistance and wars, as well as their tenacity to hold on to their customs regardless of affliction, testify to their unwillingness to submit to the dominance of the Spanish military and Spanish Franciscans.

The variables of assimilation and preservation are problematic for both tribes because in both their histories there are situations in which neither tribe wanted to be subjected to enforced enculturation (becom-

ing Canadian- or American-speaking English and accepting the Western

way of life). For the Haida, it was during the residential schooling (after the epidemic period when the Haida were willing to give up elements of their culture that were seen as invalid) that much of the assimilationist efforts were implemented with extreme rigor that resulted in a strict en- forcement of an English-only policy. As the formal schooling was in

progress, the Canadian government banned potlatching amongst the coastal tribes, the missionaries began to destroy the totem poles, which were perceived to be idols, and the children were not allowed to speak their own language. The result was that English became the preferred

language because of the negative association with the Haida culture. All

that was Haida-language, history, and culture--was undercut con-

stantly with physical and psychological punishment when Haida was




spoken or when Haida cultural practices were attempted. Preservation of

any aspect of Haida culture or language was met with constant punishment and degradation in the residential schools.22

For the Tewa, assimilationist efforts strengthened their desire to preserve their language and cultural practices. Despite the punishments meted out upon them, they would continue with a surface compliance, but they were merely compartmentalizing their associations of Spanish dominance and covertly kept their cultural practices. The Franciscans de-

stroyed every element they considered pagan or idolatrous in the Tewa

culture, but they could not destroy the Tewa language. The Tewa's open resistance prior to being dominated and subjected to the Spanish culture

changed into a secret resistance by becoming bicultural and bilingual with

strong aversion to any intermixing of the cultures. The Tewa were com-

pliant to the assimilative efforts of the Spanish, but they also held on to their own culture. Preservation was a priority for the Tewa for reasons that

Kroskrity suggests is based upon the relation of language and identity.23 The factors of enclosure, cohesiveness, and size reveal interesting find-

ings when applied to these two tribes. For the Haida, all three elements are present, but their size is the factor that has the greatest salience in these variables. The Haidas were fearful of decreasing since they were re-

covering from the smallpox epidemic, and those who remained sought Western medicine to help maintain their numbers. The other two factors are present, as mentioned, but due to the epidemic, the elements that would have contained the Haida in enclosure and cohesiveness were dis-

regarded in order to seek help, literally, their survival. The Tewa also have all three variables present, but in their case the fac-

tor of greatest salience is their cohesiveness. Their size at the time of the assimilation was significant, but it was their identity as Tewa and their tena- cious love for their culture that led them to resist the efforts to wipe out their customs. They became bilingual and were also practicing Catholi-

cism, but they maintained a separate allegiance to their own language and

practices. The element of enclosure was a positive force in the Tewa's effort to maintain their language and customs, but their enclosure could not result in complete resistance to Spanish because they were also dominated

by and forced to assimilate to the Spanish language and religion. The social variables of congruence and intended length of residence

are factors that both the Haida and Tewa have in common. Both tribes

are extremely different from the cultures to which they are subordinate.




The Haida believe in reincarnation and have a host of powerful beings to whom they attribute their existence. The Tewa enjoyed their own version of a holy place; their kiva served as the locus in which strenuous rituals and prayers were performed for acceptance by the spirits.24 Aside from the religious differences, there are many cultural differences as well, in-

cluding the political structure of the community, marriage practices, kinship practices, and rites of passage for boys and girls into men and women. Both tribes are similar in their intended length of residence: they were there first, and they had no plans to leave.

The final social variable considered- attitude- reveals the greatest difference for the two tribes. The attitude of the Haida exemplified a

positive willingness to English at first, and it was not until the forced

reform schooling that the Haidas' attitude reversed. By then, however, En-

glish was already the dominant language amongst them. They were un-

able to resist the swift transition to English that resulted, and the process of language death nearly eliminated the Haida language completely. The

Tewa were resistant from the start and did not want to have anything to do with the Spanish. It was only when they were unable to continue their re-

sistance that they resigned themselves to the Spanish language and

Catholicism, but they also maintained their own language and practices. The variables of language shock and culture shock are similar in both

tribes. The ability to speak in the target language was extremely important to both of the dominant cultures, and measures of physical punishments were implemented to ensure the demise of their mother tongue and facilitate the use of the target languages. Both tribes were eventually affected greatly by culture shock, and it is interesting that the usual fac-

tor of being a foreigner (to experience culture shock) is not an element

for either tribe. The culture shock resulted in the loss or restriction of

participating in their own cultural practices and then being forced to

practice a foreign culture's customs without understanding their histor-

ical or present significance. The factor of motivation is similar for both tribes: they wanted to sur-

vive. This desire for survival had a different result in the case of the Haida because they were initially interested in surviving the epidemic; then the

trade that provided tremendous wealth motivated them. For the Haida

it was a survival motivation that provided the impetus of acquiring English. The Tewa also had a survival motivation in which they were forced to assimilate to the Spanish culture, but the Spanish customs and




religion were kept separate from their own maintained language and

practices. The Tewa were not interested in becoming part of the Spanish culture; though they resigned themselves to assimilation, they still

preserved their own culture and language. The final variable considered is ego permeability. It is apparent that

the Haida had a less rigid attitude and a greater openness (less inhibited) than the Tewa. The Haidas' ego permeability has its roots in their will-

ingness for survival, whereas the Tewas' resistance ultimately was broken and then turned unwillingly to a survival mode as well. The factor of dis- inhibition applies more to the Tewa, who were not open to assimilating to the Spanish language or religion.

The social and psychological factors both play an important role in

understanding the two tribes' ultimate acquisition of the target language. The greatest difference between the two tribes concerns the dynamics of their motivation and attitude. For the Haida, they were willing to assimilate for various reasons (economics, medicine, and survival), which ul-

timately had a positive outcome on both the social and psychological variables. The Tewa were unwilling to assimilate and resisted as long as

possible, and when they could no longer resist, they resigned themselves to a surface compliance while covertly keeping their own cultural practices. The result of their unwillingness negatively affected the majority of the variables. There were variables (dominance, subordination, enclosure) that both tribes experienced, but the difference was the willing attitude of the Haida versus the unwillingness of the Tewa.

DISCUSSION

The greatest factors for both tribes concerns motivation and attitude. The final analysis for both tribes is that for the Haida, they ultimately ac-

quired English as their first language. They were openly willing to learn

English prior to the forced residential schools and adopted English as their first language. The Tewa, despite their resistance or their unwill-

ingness, eventually became bilingual. The negative factors in the variables only reveal the motivation and attitude of the Tewa, which did not

ultimately keep them from learning and acquiring Spanish. The Haida

began with a positive attitude and an integrative motivation that resulted in acquiring English, and they now have it as a first language. The Tewa, despite their resistance and unwillingness, eventually adopted Spanish.

AMERICAN INDIAN QUARTERLY / WINTER & SPRING 2006/VOL. 30, NOS. 1 & 2 103



The salience of this reflection concerning SLA/L suggests it is important to review some other factors that have great bearing on the analysis. The fact that the immigrants in both situations have the target language provides an interesting twist for the model. The assimilation, then, is to the dominant language (Spanish for the Tewa and English for the Haida) of the immigrants who had great impact on the changes in the religious and political order. But the result is interesting when viewed from the

perspective of this model, namely, that both tribes acquired the lan-

guage, though the Tewa were vigorously resistant and had a negatively hostile attitude toward the Spanish. It is not surprising that the Haida ac-

quired English, but the Tewa's resistance and attitude should indicate that Spanish would not have been acquired had the Spanish not reached

political dominance.

Logically, according to the acculturation model, the Tewa should not have acquired Spanish. But the historical context and dominance of

Spanish, with the implementation of physical punishment, play an im-

portant role in the Tewa's acquisition of Spanish. Enforced assimilation

through punishment, psychologically or physically, is not part of the acculturation model, but its impact cannot be underestimated in the role of acquiring Spanish in the case of the Tewa. This comparison suggests that SLA/L theory falls short when examined in and applied to Native American contexts either past or present. It is unmistakable that a new

way of thinking about language revitalization is necessary.

ANCESTRAL LANGUAGE ACQUISITION/LEARNING

With the SLA/L model characteristics' discrepancy that I have described, it is essential to provide a framework that will nourish further under-

standing as well as a foundation that encompasses the particular needs of the First Nations/Native American language situations. I propose that a new thinking is necessary concerning the categorization of the First Na-

tions/Native Americans in the SLA/L camp. Though some characteristics are relevant, most of the characteristics do not validate the uniqueness of Native American culture within mainstream American or Canadian culture. Nor does SLA/L theory address Native Americans having to relearn their ancestral language. Such is the case for many Native Americans

who are finding themselves trying to renew the daily usage of the ancestral language of their mother's or grandmother's generation.25




The following provides final support for reconsidering the current SLA/L model that is applied to First Nations/Native Americans. It is not

necessary to look again at the areas that were already mentioned that would sanction this new classification; rather, I will provide support be-

yond the lack of cohesion of the SLA/L characteristics that have been ex-

pounded here so far. First, much of the patterns of speaking in the ancestral language have been carried over and continue in the First

NationsYNative Americans' use of English. Important metalinguistic as-

pects that would be important factors in ancestral language learning, in-

cluding turn taking, narrative pauses, narrative form, appropriate social

speech requirements (such as kinship or elder respect), etc., which come from the ancestral language, are already present in the English that Na- tive American students currently speak. Present also are the factors of the

language heritage, geographical familiarity, and preeminence that are in-

tricately associated with learning the ancestral language. Finally, what has received much attention is learning and participation styles but without

regard to learning ancestral languages. This is not an extensive list, yet it amply covers crucial aspects of lan-

guage learning that most Native students encounter when learning their

language. Though Native American language renewal efforts are lacking in a current model that would provide a relevant focus or impetus for salient research, I suggest that it is necessary to seriously reconsider the current SLA/L categorization of the language situations of Native Ameri- cans learning their own language as a second language.

The uniqueness of the Native American situations provides many op- portunities to observe, reflect, and synthesize how such situations are different. What is necessary is for the old thinking and the old model

(which has produced meager results concerning language status among Native Americans) to pass the torch onto a model that is culturally relevant and that provides a solid foundation to foster research. I propose, therefore, a new and relevant category called Ancestral Language Acqui- sition/Learning (ALA/L). ALA/L has within it essential relevance that includes social and psychological aspects that are prevalent in much of the Native American language renewal efforts. The ALA/L model will provide that much needed spark to bring a new fire to the field and will indeed be

appropriate in all Native American language renewal efforts. Nancy Richardson confirms the need for this new approach. Richardson's tribe, Karuk, has only five fluent Native speakers (who are elders), and in her




address at the 1994 Native American Language Issues Institute Confer-

ence she concluded that for her people, "most of the stuff in SLA doesn't

apply to us, but we use what is useful." 26

The research on Native American languages from the early work of Boas

to the current work of many scholars provides important information

and results that have been secured, analyzed, and published. Though much of the information is not very beneficial to Native Americans with-

out specific training in linguistics, there is nevertheless a body of data

that has been secured and recorded. The advent of SLA/L research sought to provide information relevant to understanding the processes of Na-

tive Americans in acquiring English, even though Native American

people do not fully conform to the SLA/L models and characteristics

upon which it is based. Furthermore, the SLA/L model's characteristics

fall especially short when applied to Native American people who are in

the process of learning their ancestral language as a second language. This was evident in the application of the acculturation model to the

Haida and Tewa communities, which resulted in very little coherence. It

is, therefore, necessary for current research to forge itself in such a man-

ner that provides a consistent foundation in a modified SLA/L theory that

adequately describes the historical setting and provides a basis that en-

hances current and future research focused on First Nations and Native

American language acquisition and learning. This phenomenon must be categorized separately from the SLA/L

camp and be distinguished as ALA/L. The categorization is not one that

merely separates the Native Americans for the sake of separation. The

distinction will effectively provide relevant understanding of unique sit-

uations where Indigenous students are learning a language that was once

their ancestors' first language. Finally, this divorce from the SLA/L para-

digm will also advance research with results applicable to all Native

American peoples seeking to renew the use of their ancestral language.

NOTES

1. For a sampling of such research, see Elizabeth Brandt, "Applied Linguistic Anthropology and American Indian Language Renewal," Human Organization 47 (1988): 322-29; Paul Kroskrity, Language, History, and Identity: Ethnolinguis- tic Studies of the Arizona Tewa (Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 1993);

10o6 White: Rethinking Native American Language Revitalization



William Leap, "Applied Linguistic Anthropology and American Indian Lan-

guage Renewal: Introduction." Human Organization 47 (1988): 283-91. "First Nations" is currently the term that is applied to the original inhabitants

of Canada, hence, they are literally the First Nations. For the purposes of this ar-

ticle, I begin with the terms "First Nations/Native American," but then to sim-

plify, I incorporate Native American since the terms and content are relevant

and salient to both countries. 2. For an overview of stories, essays, and poetry concerning residential

school experiences, see Linda Jaine, ed., Residential Schools: The Stolen Years

(Saskatoon: University Extension Press, Extension Division, University of

Saskatchewan, 1993).

3. Fourth Report of the Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs, "You took

my talk": Aboriginal Literacy and Empowerment (published under the authority of the House of Commons by the Queen's Printer for Canada, 199o).

4. Franz Boas, ed., Handbook of American Indian Languages, Part I (Wash-

ington Dc: Bureau of American Ethnology, Bulletin 40, 1911).

5. For example, see John Swanton, "Haida," in Handbook ofAmerican Indian

Languages, Part I, ed. Franz Boas (Washington DC: Bureau of American Ethnol-

ogy, Bulletin 40, 1911), 205-82.

6. Examples are Harry Hoijer, "Indian Languages of North America," re-

printed in The North American Indians: A Sourcebook, ed. Roger C. Owen, James J. F. Deetz, and Anthony D. Fisher (New York: MacMillan, 1967), 76-90; Morris

Swadesh, "Indian Languages of North America," reprinted in The North Ameri-

can Indians: A Sourcebook, ed. Roger C. Owen, James J. F. Deetz, and Anthony D. Fisher (New York: MacMillan, 1967), 91-95.

7. Dell Hymes, "The Ethnography of Speaking," in Anthropology and Human

Behavior, ed. Thomas Gladwin and William Sturtevant (Washington DC:

Anthropological Society of Washington, 1962), 13-53. 8. Karl Kroeber, "An Introduction to the Art of Traditional American Indian

Narration," in Traditional Literatures of the American Indian: Texts and Interpre- tations, ed. Karl Kroeber et al. (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1980), 1-24; Paul Kroskrity, "Ethnolinguistics and American Indian Education: Native American Languages and Cultures as a Means of Teaching," in American Indian

Policy and Cultural Values: Conflict and Accommodation, ed. Jennie R. Joe (Los

Angeles: UCLA American Indian Studies Center, 1986), 99-11o. 9. These are the main contributors to the aspects listed: Diane Larsen-

Freeman and Michael Long, eds., An Introduction to Second Language Acqu- isition Research (New York: Longman, 1991); Robert Gardner and Wallace Lam-

bert, Attitudes and Motivation in Second-Language Learning (Rowley MA: New-

bury House, 1972); John Schumann, "The Acculturation Model for Second Lan-

guage Acquisition," in The Pidginization Process: A Model for Second Language




Acquisition, ed., Rosario Gringas (Rowley MAS: NEWBURY HOUSE, 1978); JOHN

SCHUMANN, "RESEARCH ON THE ACCULTURATION MODEL FOR SECOND LAN-

GUAGE ACQUISITION," JOURNAL OF MULTILINGUAL AND MULTICULTURAL DE-

VELOPMENT 7 (1986): 379-92.

10. See Robert Dumont, "Learning English and How to Be Silent: Studies in

Sioux and Cherokee Classrooms," in Functions of Language in the Classroom, ed.

Courtney Cazden, Vera John, and Dell Hymes (Prospects Heights IL: Waveland

Press, 1972), 344-69; Vera John, "Styles of Learning-Styles of Teaching: Reflec-

tions on the Education of Navajo Children," in Functions of Language in the

Classroom, ed. Courtney Cazden, Vera John, and Dell Hymes (Prospects Heights IL: Waveland Press, 1972), 331-43; Helen Wieczkiewicz, "A Phonics Reading

Program for Navajo Students," Journal of American Indian Education 18 (1979): 20 -27.

The subject of Indigenous student participation in the classroom has had a

great volume of attention, including Susan Philips, "Participant Structures and

Communicative Competence: Warm Springs Children in Community and

Classroom," in Functions of Language in the Classroom, ed. Courtney Cazden, Vera John, and Dell Hymes (Prospects Heights IL: Waveland Press, 1972), 370-

94; Gerald Mohatt and Fred Ericson, "Cultural Differences in Teaching Styles in

an Odawa School: A Sociolinguistic Approach," in Culture and the Bilingual Classrooms, ed. Henry Treuba et al. (Rowley MA: Newbury House, 1981), 105-19;

Terry Tafoya, "Coyote's Eyes: Native Cognition Styles," Journal of American In-

dian Education, Special Issue (1989): 29-42; Susan Philips, The Invisible Culture:

Communication in Classroom and Community on the Warm Springs Indian Reser-

vation (New York: Longman, 1983). 11. See Gerald Neufeld, "On the Acquisition of Prosodic and Articulatory

Features in Adult Language Learning," Canadian Modern Language Review 34, no. 2 (1978): 227-41.

12. The situation that is famous for the play on the term "foreigner" comes

from England in the time of the Anglos and Saxons as they invaded the original inhabitants of what is now England. The Anglos and Saxons-the invaders-

called them "Welas," which meant foreigner. The "Welas" inhabitants were

eventually driven to the outskirts of the British Isles, currently known as Wales.

13. This quote is from William Acton, "Second Language Learning and Per-

ception Differences in Attitude" (PhD diss., University of Michigan, 1979); it also

appears in Larsen-Freeman and Long, Introduction to Second Language Acquisi- tion Research, 181.

14. See John Schumann, "Research on the Acculturation Model," 86.

15. Larsen-Freeman and Long, Introduction to Second Language Acquisition Research, 257-58.




16. Michael Johnston, "Canada's Queen Charlotte Islands: Homeland of the

Haida." National Geographic 172, no. 1 (1987): 102-27. 17. For an account of the Christian mission work among the Haida, see

William H. Collison, In the Wake of the War Canoe (Victoria: Sono Nis Press,

1981).

18. See Margaret Blackman, During My Time (Seattle: University of Wash-

ington Press, 1982); and John Enrico, Haida Syntax (Lincoln: University of

Nebraska Press, 2003), for a discussion of attitudes concerning English among the Haida at the turn of the twentieth century.

19. Report of the Assembly of First Nations Language and Literacy Secre-

tariat, Towards Rebirth of First Nations Languages (Ottawa: Assembly of Fist

Nations, 1992), 64, 73.

20. Edward Dozier, "Two Examples of Linguistic Acculturation: The Yaqui of Sonora, and the Tewa of New Mexico," Language 32 (1956): 146 -57.

21. Paul Kroskrity, "Language Ideologies in the Expression and Representa- tion of Arizona Tewa Ethnic Identity," in Regimes of Language: Ideologies, Politics, and Identities, ed. Paul V. Kroskrity (Santa Fe NM: School of American

Research Press, 2ooo). 22. See Art Collison, "Healing Myself Through Our Haida Traditional

Customs," in Residential Schools: The Stolen Years, ed. Linda Jaine (Saskatoon:

University Extension Press, Extension Division, University of Saskatchewan,

1993), 35- 42.

23. Paul Kroskrity, "Arizona Tewa Kiva Speech as a Manifestation of Linguis- tic Ideology," Pragmatics 2 (1992): 297-309.

24. Kroskrity, "Arizona Tewa Kiva Speech." 25. See Ernie Collison, "Haida Language-Plenty of Work," Haida Laas:

Journal of the Haida Nation i, no. 17 (1994): 1, 6.

26. Nancy Richardson, "Most Endangered Languages" (paper presented at the Second General Assembly Session of the Native American Language Issues

Institute Conference, Glorieta, New Mexico, 1994).




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