“[Language] is intrinsic to our sovereignty and way of living. Cultural continuity cannot exist without it,” he says. “The essential elements of wellness, spirituality and culture are contingent on our ability to speak our language. They will not happen without a concerted effort in collaboration with our school universities.
“The role of universities should be of augmenting and assisting,” as opposed to teaching, he says, because adults have a much more difficult time achieving fluency in a language than children. “The other role [of universities] is the certifying of cultural and language experts to stock the schools and provide technical assistance.”
At the University of Wyoming, Arapaho instructor Wayne C’Hair says he was recruited from the Wind River Reservation because he was one of the few fluent speakers who could also teach the language. It has become his life’s work. When not at the university, C’Hair teaches classes at the St. Steven’s Indian School and at the Wind River Tribal College, both on the Wind River Reservation.
Teaching Arapaho has required the creation of a new alphabet because, as C’Hair says, “We have sounds that English does not have.
“The language is so rich. Hearing Arapaho is like watching color TV. Listening to English is like watching black and white,” he says.
For example, he says, the Arapaho word for automobile is translated as “wagon that goes without horses.”
Native languages should be cherished and encouraged as a means to preserve social and cultural diversity, C’Hair says. “We have our own culture and we do things in a certain way. Without a language, you can’t have a culture.”
© Copyright 2005 by DiverseEducation.com
