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About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 16, 2000)
Warm Springs, Oregon Spilyay Tymoo Wasco Language Lesson- 6 November 16,2000 Kiksht Language Lesson Thanksgiving Dinner Ixtba Wigwa Monday Grocery Shopping List Yukst itaki Awaqdt Il'ishalx Ilshdqwt il'ishalx Illgalat Ilkwlawaitq Ilpuyanmax Ildudush Chllbut ildudush cooked turkey potato corn dried corn carrot onion egg(s) milk ice cream Ilac'imam Uk'flagwadit sugar Hkupi coffee Anxlgi'mlalma. I'm going buying (shopping). Inft idala, anuya store-yamt. Give me money, I'm going to the store. Ashgdumldlmama itlxlm. They're going to buy food. Shgduklt aga itshdalxlm. Now they're carrying their food. Chaximat atautauli ic'ikc'ikba. He's putting the can in the truck (wagon). Makwshtba wigwa Tuesday ikmf dish, plate ilk'mimax dishesplates isk'mtk fork, scissors, pitchfork aq'fwiqi knife I Qaxba aq'fwiqi? Where is the knife? Qaxba ikmf? Where is the dish? Qaxba ilk'mimax? Where is the plates? Qaxba isk'mtk? Where is the fork? Imichgf iladas. Pick up the plate. Ixima ikmf iladamba. Put the dish on the table. Ixima isk'mtk iladamba. Put the fork on the table. Axima aq'fqiwqi ikmiba. Put the knife on the dish. Lunba Wigwa Wednesday Walu gmuxt chi? (Are you Hungry?) Dan miuxulal? What you doing? Nlxlmax. Walu gmuxt chi? I'm eating. Are you hungry? 'N. Kushnkiax. Yes. I'm starving. Amxitlxlmama naikaba itqwlf. You come over to my place for dinner. Imlxashdt chi? Are you thirsty? 'N. Inlxashdt. Yes. I'm thirsty. Ayamulxlma. AgaAlxllma. I'm going to feed you. Time to eat. Tai t'ukti itlxlm. It was a good meal. O Laktba Wigwa Thursday Aga Alxllma (Time to eat) Meals Sitkumsin Kadux itlxlm Saibi aga! ax itlxlm lunch (time) breakfast lunch Chushdix itlxlm dinner Aga Alxllma time to eat Walu gmuxt chi? Are you hungry? K'aya. Inlxlmchk. No. I just ate. Dan igimxlmux7 What did you eat? Yukst itaki. Cooked turkey Mukshdit chi? Are you full? N Nukshdi't. Yes. I'm full. Gwenmaba Wigwa Friday Grocery Shopping List Yukst itaki Awaqdt Il'ishalx Ilshdqwt il'ishalx Iligalat Hkwlawaitq Ilpuyanmax Ildudush Chllbut ildudush cooked turkey potato corn dried corn carrot onion egg(s) milk ice cream Ilac'imam Uk'flagwadit sugar Hkupi coffee Anxlgi'mlalma. (, I'm going buying (shopping). Inft idala, anuya store-yamt. Give me money, I'm going to the store. Ashgdumlalmama itlxlm. They're going to buy food. Shgduklt1 aga itshdalxlm. Now they're carrying their food. Chaximat atautauli ic'ikc'ikba. He's putting the can in the truck (wagon). Qaxba aq'fwiqi? Where is the knife? c Qaxba ikmf? f Where is the dish? Qaxba ilk'mimax? : Where is the plates? "5 Qaxba isk'mtk? , Where is the fork? Imichgf iladas. Pick up the plate. Ixima ikmf iladamba. Put the dish on the table. Ixima isk'mtk iladamba. Put the fork on the table. Axima aq'fqiwqi ikmiba. Put the knife on the dish. Dan miuxulal? What you doing? Nlxlmax. Walu gmuxt chi? I'm eating. Are you hungry? 'N. Kushnkiax. Yes. I'm starving. Amxitlxlmama naikaba itqwlf. You come over to my place for dinner. Walu gmuxt chi? Are you hungry? K'aya. Inlxlmchk. No. I just ate. Dan igimxlmux? What did you eat? Yukst itaki. Cooked turkey Mukshdit chi? Are you full? N Nukshdi't. Yes. I'm full. What has changed in 113 years? by Valerie Aguilar The battle to keep our native languages alive has been endured since the influence of Europeans to this continent over 400 years ago. Sadly, many tribes have lost their languages and will never have the chance to regain them again. Although the disloca tion of our three tribes to middle Oregon is, in itself a injustice, we can find blessings wherever we look. For example, was it in His plan for us to be isolated here, in this high desert, so that we may hold on to our languages, our culture, our way of life that the Creator gave to us? Maybe, maybe not. Ponder this, why would He create us all to look, act, and talk differently from one another, if it weren't so? On that note, I would like to share with you an article written 113 years ago, regarding the languages of our native people. Remember your elders, remember the devotion to hold on to our languages through years of adversity. "Barbarous Dialects Should Be Blotted Out... " Excerpts from the 1887 Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs By J. D. C. Atkins In the report of this office for 1885, incidental allusion was made to the importance of teaching Indians the English language, the paragraph being as follows: A wider and better knowledge of the English language among them is essential to their comprehension of the duties and obligations of citizenship. .. with the missionary and the schoolmas ter industriously in the field everywhere among the tribes, it is to be hoped, and it is confidently believed, that among the next genera tion of Indians the English language will be sufficiently spoken and used to enable them to become acquainted with the laws, customs, and institutions of our country. The idea was not a new one. As far back as 1868 the commission known as the "Peace Commission, "...embodied in the report of their investigations into the condition of Indian tribes their matured and pronounced views on this subject, from which I make the following extracts: The white and Indian must mingle together and jointly occupy the country, or one of them must abandon it. ... What prevented their living together?. ..The difference in language, In the regulations of the Indian Bureau issued by the Indian Office in 1880, for the guidance of Indian agents, occurs this paragraph: All instruction must be in English, except in so far as the native language of the pupils shall be a necessary medium for conveying the knowledge of English, and the conversation of and communications between the pupils and with the teacher must be, as far as practicable, in English. In 1884 the following order was issued by the Department to the office, being called out by the report that in one of the schools instruction was being given in both Dakota and English: You will please inform the authorities of this school that the English lan guage only must be taught the Indian youth placed therefor educa tional and industrial training at the expense of the Government. If Dakota or any other language is taught such children, they will be taken away and their support by the Government will be withdrawn from the school. Deeming it for the very best interest of the Indian, both as an individual and as an embryo citizen, to have this policy strictly enforced among the various schools on Indian reservations, orders have been issued accordingly to Indian agents, and the text of the orders and of some explanations made thereof are given below: December 14, 1886: In all schools conducted by missionary organizations it is required that all instructions shall be given in the English language. February 2, 1887: In reply I have to advise you that the rule applies to all schools on Indian reservations, whether they be Government or mission schools. The instruction of the Indians in the vernacular is not only of no use to them, but is detrimental to the cause of their education and civilization, and no school will be permitted on the reservation in which the English language is not exclusively taught. To teach Indian school children in their native tongue is practically to exclude English, and to prevent them from acquiring it. This language, which is good enough for a white man and a black man, ought to be good enough for the red man. But it has been suggested that this order, being mandatory, gives a cruel blow to the sacred rights of the Indians. Today we face those same ignorant beliefs. There are some who believe that their own comfort and understanding of life does not spread further than their own community For example, "Languages have died throughout human history our own language bears little resemblance to the English of the 15th cen tury, " said Michael Blake, a professor of philosophy at Harvard University, who recently published a broadside attack on the movement to protect endangered cultures in Civilization magazine. "It is not immediately clear to me why we should try to preserve them, " he said in a telephone interview. Language is far more than the utterance of sounds, it is attached to our souls. It shares the basis of belief, it engulfs our spirit, and was given to us by our Creator to worship him. We have an option to be bitter and hateful, but, would it get us anywhere? We have great examples of forgiveness, and preserveranceour Elders, who have been a great example. We go on, because the Creator gives us strength to endure. We have survived near geno cide which our people were 100 of the population base of this country, but now are pitifully (approximately), but we will survive. This world is like a basket, and we are but a single twine. The twine is pretty onto itself but add it with others we become a part of the whole beautiful design. Once we understand this, we truely become wise. Many thanks to Myra who shared these exerpts with us.
