Spilyay Tyrooo, Warm Springs, Oregon
April 4, 2002
THE CONFEDERATED TRIBES LANGUAGE LESSON-
Awa awinshmami ku inaumami xwiyacht tions of transferring knowledge and skills to the
wat'i tkwainptyau awata inp'iwityau. next generation, and the loss of mentors for
The men and young men need to sweat those systems, where traumatic. Many Native
before going hunting or fishing. communities have never recovered from those
losses. To this day, current education systems
Awa xwiyacht wa'ti xnitpa awata have not successfully replaced the original
timaanipta. Ayat ayatmami. systems created by indigenous peoples.
Cerimonial rootdiggers and huckleberry Traditioinal knowledge and skills are not trans-
gatherers need to sweat before going ferred. Even modern skills and knowledge are
rootdigging or huckleberry picking.
(This segment is taken from "Schools Serving Native America: A
Report of Five Case Studies", written by William G. Demmert, Jr.
who spent his childhood with the Southeast Alaska Tlingit tribe.
Incidentally, the Warm Springs Elementry School program of the
Culture & Heritage Department was a case-study of Mr.
Demmerts.)
Historically, educating the youth in a
tribe or Native community was the responsibil
ity of the parents, the extended family, the clan,
andor the Elters of a tribe. The exact process
depended upon each tribes practical experiences
over thousands of years. For the Tlingit com
munity of which I am a part, education
repsonsibilities usually fell to the maternal
uncles for the male child, and the aunts for the
female child. In my case, my paternal uncles
filled the role of mentor. In addition, grandpar
ents and other members of the clan who were
recognized as having special talents were in
cluded in the educational process. Each mentor
had the responsibility of the next generation.
No nephew or niece was allowed to fail, for the
very existence of the clan depended upon how
well those mentors carried out their teaching
responsibilities. Exceptional individual talent
was recognized and appreciated as a reflection
of the respect a clan, on the whole, gained for
having that talent. Clans might be noted for
their oratorical skills, physical strength, wood
carving abilities, healing knowledge, knowl
edge of the seas, or skills in hunting or fishing.
As tribal groups communicated with one
another they learned and adopted additional
knowledge, innovations, and techniques to fit
their daily necessities for living. The vast base
of knowledge concerning every aspect of daily
living; the skills, the knowledge and innova
tions which were passed down to each succes
sive generation for thousands of years was
severely threatened as the European colonizers
entered the land with their own ways of life.
This way of life, which eventually influenced
most if not all Native American communities,
included radically different systems of educa
tion then what the Native American had been
exposed to. Native peoples became dependent
upon the early colonial and national govern
ment for their very survival. This has in turn
dramatically impacted the Native American's
sense of identity and well being and had serious
consequences for the hopes, goals, motivations
and aspirations of generations of Native people
to come.
The system of education introduced by
the colonal powers have evolved into the cur
rent systems of public, church, Bureau of Indian
Affairs, contract, and grant schools. These
European systems changed the traditional sys
tems of educationg youth withiin the commu
nity into one of sending youth to schools con
trolled and owned by others-others who were
seldom interested in promoting or supporting
local priorities, language, culture, spiritual well
being, and more of the tribal groups served.
The loss of tribal educational systems and tradi-
not transferred in sufficient quality or quanitity.
Too few Native students are motivated to par
ticipate in and successfully complte the systems
they are a part of. In short, the schools of today
are not meeting the intellectual, spiritual, cul
tural, and moral needs of Native American
communities and students.
The 1928 Meriam Report, the 1969
United States Senate Report, Indian Education:
A National Challenge A National Tragedy, the
1970 Havighurst Report, the 1991 Indian Na
tions At Risk report, the 1992 White Hosue
Conference report and numerous Goverment
Accounting Office (GAO) reports over the
years all attest to the fact that there are signifi
cant problems encountered in creating schools
and curricula, which meet the needs of Native
American communities and students. Each
report has had some influence in creating
change. The Merian Report recognized the
importance of building upon the language and
cultural bases of the tribal groups, and the fact
that Native teachers were a necessary compo
nent of schools serving Native communities.
Indian Education: A National Tragedy, a Na
tional Challenge found that school was, in some
cases, the enemy and that parental and tribal
involvement were missing ingredients in the
process of schooling".' f ' 1
.....
Over the years Jeane Thomas has become
known for her heart and mind. Her ser
vice to the Culture 6t Heritage Department
: will never be forgotten, most especially by!
those who have worked with her. But
even more importanly, her service to her
neighbors and friends is a credit to human
ity. As we remember Jeane, let us also
j remember all those who have passed on in
these last few weeks and months. These
people have been, and always will be,
near and dear.
What is "Indian
Time?"
Have you been hearing about
something called "Indian Time
airing for .
few
minutes
after the lanquaqe lessons
right
every
day? If you haven't, then you've
been missing out on your chance to
win four free swimming passes tothe
Ka-Nee-Tah Resort! All you have to
do is call in, answer each question
(correctly), and answer in Ichishkiin!
"Indian Time" is will feature a
number of prize-winning trivia chal
lenges, brought to you by the Cul
ture & Heritage Deparment, KWSO,
and sponsors. Each "Indian Time"
contest will be featured in one of
the three Native languages and give
you the chance to win!
Catch the "Indian Time" pro
gram for rules. Here are the ques
tions currently airing:
Mtaat wilalik ku nant aikws?
Naxsh tamam ku paxat wishpush?
Ml chi iwa kakyanmi twin?
i How manv letters in the Ichishkiin;
snwit and English alphabet?
Language Classes:
Wasco: Mondays from 3:30 to 5 PM in
the Education Building (1st Floor Train
ing Room)
Sahaptin: Tuesdays and Thursdays
from 3:30 to 5 PM in the Language
Trailer.
Paiute: Wednesdays from 3:30 to 5
PM in the Language Trailer.
Home Base Classes:
Wasco: Thursdays from 6 to 8 PM.
Held at Cladys Tompson s Home
(For info, call Val Switlzer at
553-3575.)
Sahaptin: Thursdays from 5 to 8 PM.
Held in the Simnasho Area.
(For info, call Suzie Slockish at
553-2201.)
Paiute: Tuesdays from 5 to 8 PM.
Held at Cheryl Lohman s Home.