r
P^ge 8
October 19, 2011
Spily^y Tymoo, Warm Springs, Oregon
n
Unique Native language program at Madras High School
at the learning and personal
growth that was going on with
MHS students.
She relates, “The biggest les­
son I will take away from the
summer is learning that intro­
ducing new ways of doing things
in the education system takes a
lot more time than sometimes
anticipated. In order to propa­
gate education reform through
the use of revolutionary teach­
ing m ethods, teachers m ust
spend time un-polluting the wa­
ters. Say you have a healthy
salmon but you put it into a dirty
river to live. What will happen
to the salmon? A teacher must
create an environment of trust
and teamwork for the class to
be healthy and so the learners
can flourish. The WAYK system
allo w s for this to happen
amongst its participants.”
T h is past summer, inside the
Culture and Heritage Depart­
m ent o f the C o nfederated
Tribes of Warm Springs, seven
Madras High School students,
one language program devel­
oper, and three highly educated
university interns worked more
than 40 hours a week hunting
and acquiring the N orthern
Paiute language, Numu.
What began as a small project
has grown into its own phenom­
ena in M adras High School
teacher Becky Dudney’s Culture
of Warm Springs classroom.
Magnificent 7
How did the seven high
school students originally get se­
lected for the summer intern­
ship?
Evan Gardner, developer of
a unique language teaching sys­
tem, specifically sought out cul­
tural leaders in the high school.
He was directed to students
who were known leaders and
who had an interest in learning
one of the three Warm Springs
languages.
“The M agnificent 7” was
born. This group of MHS youth
went on a journey of self dis­
covery and language learning.
In the end, they all became
teachers who brought the tech­
niques of community develop­
ment, leadership and language
teaching back to the high school
to share and strengthen their
community.
WAYK
MHS liaison Foster Kalama
and teacher Becky Dudney first
stumbled across a language re­
v ita liz a tio n system called
“W here Are Your Keys?” or
WAYK.
This happened while they
were chaperoning and perform­
ing with the MHS Cultural En­
richment Club, during a spring
field trip to the 2011 Oregon
Indian Education Association
gathering at Central Oregon
Community College.
Dudney and Kalama were in­
trigued by what they saw during
a WAYK language demonstra­
Teacher Becky Dudney’s Culture of Warm Springs classroom at Madras High School.
tion hosted by G ardner and
P o rtlan d State in tern Sky
Hopinka.
Both Dudney and Kalama
were eager to help Gardner put
together a team of students ca­
pable of building a stronger lan­
guage and cultural presence at
Madras high.
The WAYK system allows
learners to construct carefully
designed games in an environ­
m ent o f focused p lay that
drives the acquisition process.
WAYK sessions are not
classes, and not lessons—they
reach their full potential when
everyone involved thinks of
them as games.
WAYK is a collection of tech­
niques used for rapidly reach­
ing proficiency in a target skill.
More than just a single method,
WAYK is a system for using any
method that works.
There are no teachers or stu­
dents, only players who fill both
roles at the same time. There
are no textbooks or worksheets,
you only need the things you
have in your pockets.
However, Evan had a little
more help than just his pocket
The students are
having fun while
they learn so many
skills, both academic
and social, all at the
same time.
lint...
In addition to the Magnifi­
cent 7, he had help from the
Warm Springs Culture and Heri­
tage director Valerie Switzler,
the Central Oregon Partnership
to End Poverty, the W arm
Springs Youth Workforce Devel­
opment Program (WED), and
language elders Shirley Tuffi and
Gerald Danzuka.
Gardner collaborated with
three vibrant college interns,
David Edwards, Sky Hopinka,
and April Charlo.
Gardner, the original devel­
oper of WAYK, has been teach­
ing languages and language re­
vitalization to teachers and stu­
dents using his “W here Are
Your Keys?” fluency game since
1992, facilitating workshops lo­
cally and internationally.
He has taught Chinuk Wawa
(chinook jargon) locally since
2002. He facilitates workshops
and language programs for Na­
tive language communities as
well as other spoken languages
on the edge of extinction, like
Latin. Evan calls himself and
those he trains “language teacher
makers.”
David Edwards is an under­
graduate student at Stanford
University, working on an inter­
disciplinary major between the
computer science, psychology,
linguistics, and philosophy de­
partments.
He got interested in lan ­
guages in middle school when
he tried inventing his own lan­
guage for fun, which then led
him to research other world lan­
guages and in turn fostered an
interest in language revitalization
in Native North American lan­
guages specifically.
He discovered “Where Are
Your Keys?” in March of 2010
and quickly became addicted to
“language hunting,” sharing the
system with friends in class­
rooms and workshops in Cali­
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) -
Connecticut’s Mohegan Sun Ca­
sino says revenue from slot
machines jumped in September,
while Foxwoods Resort Casino
said revenue fell 5 percent.
Mohegan Sun said Monday
that revenue was $59.8 million,
up by nearly 4 percent from
September 2010.
It was welcome news to the
Indian-run casino, which re­
ported declining revenue every
month since March due to the
weak economy and competition
from other casinos in the North­
east.
Jeffrey E. Hartmann, presi­
dent and chief executive, cred­
ited an extra Friday in Septem­
ber, better weather and effec­
tive marketing.
Foxwoods said slot revenue
was $53.2 million, down from
$56.1 m illion in Septem ber
2010. Scott Butera, president
and c h ie f executive at
Foxwoods, said in a statement
that despite the persistently
weak economy, the casino is
generating slot revenue at about
the same pace as it did last year.
High court w on’t hear
Oneidas’ land claim
WASHINGTON, D.C.
(AP) — The U.S. Supreme
Court has turned down an
appeal from the Oneida
Indian N ation claim ing
that it was underpaid for
o v er 2 5 0 ,0 0 0 acres in
onetim e tribal lands in
upstate New York that
changed hands more than
150 years ago.
The justices on Monday
left in place a federal ap­
peals court ru lin g that
threw out the O neidas’
land claims.
The Oneidas say the state il­
legally purchased land in upstate
New York in a series of trans­
actions in the 18th and 19th cen­
turies.
They claim New York under­
paid for the land in Madison and
O neida counties by about
$500,000, a sum now worth
$500 million with interest com­
pounded.
The law su it w as filed in
1974 by Oneidas in New York,
W isc o n sin and O n tario ,
Canada.
Navajo calls out Urban Outfitters for its products
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) _
Urban O utfitters’ line of Na­
vajo-branded clothing and ac­
cessories has set off a firestorm
online and within the Navajo
Nation government, with allega­
tions of trademark violations
and criticism of the products _
particularly underwear and a li­
quor flask _ that many tribal
members consider disrespectful.
N ative A m erican-inspired
prints have shown up on run­
ways for years, and it’s common
for designers to borrow from
other cultures.
But the Navajo government’s
issue with Urban Outfitters is
the clothing chain’s use of the
name “Navajo” on its products
and in m arketing. The tribe
holds at least 10 trademarks on
the name that cover clothing,
footwear, online retail sales,
household products and textiles.
The tribe’s Department of
Justice sent Urban Outfitters
CEO Glen Senk a cease-and-
desist letter in June, demanding
that the company pull the Na­
vajo name from its products.
The tribe has received no re­
sponse but says it remains “cau­
tiously optimistic” it can per­
suade Urban Outfitters to adopt
another name and trademark.
“When products that have
absolutely no connection to the
Navajo Nation, its entities, its
people, and their products are
marketed and retailed under the
guise that they are Navajo in
fornia, Colorado, and Mongolia.
Sky H opinka is from the
Hochunk Nation and Pechanga
Band of Luiseno Indians. He
has been interning with Evan and
“Where Are Your Keys?” since
February, 2011.
Sky has becom e fluent in
Chinuk Wawa, which he will use
for his university B.A. “foreign”
language requirement.
After graduating, he plans to
work in filmmaking and with
WAYK in learning and teaching
the Hochunk and Luiseno lan­
guages.
April Charlo is a member of
the Confederated Salish and
Kootenai Tribes, located on the
F lath ead R eservatio n near
Missoula, Mont. April’s com­
mitment to restoring her tribal
language motivated her to pur­
sue a Master’s degree in Educa­
tion Leadership from the Uni­
versity of Montana.
April intends to utilize her
knowledge and experience to aid
in the recovery and revitaliza­
tion of Native Languages.
Teacher Becky Dudney was
a volunteer one day a week dur­
ing the summer and was amazed
Dudney reports that the class
has drawn a lot of attention from
students.
The classro o m is tra n s­
formed into a language learn­
in g lab every T uesday and
Thursday.
P aiute Language teachers
S h irley T ufti and G erald
Danzuka are present to ensure
accuracy of the Numu language
while it is being spoken, and are
available for students to pull
more language from these elders.
Many students stop by before
and after class to express inter­
est in the activities and find
themselves getting sucked into
playing a language game with­
out realizing it.
Other students say they have
taught their friends and family
members the system and some
Numu language.
“The m ost exciting thing
about it all is to see young people
building a community while link­
ing to their cultural heritage.
They are having fun while they
learn so many skills, both aca­
demic and social, all at the same
time. They want to be in class!”
(This article is courtesy o f Becky
Dudney and Evan Gardener.)
Wasco Chieftainship
meeting scheduled
News from Indian Country
Mohegan Sun reports
Sept, slots revenue up
Courtesy of Becky Dudney
The next meeting will
be held on Wednesday
evening, O ctober 26,
2011 at the Agency
Longhouse. A light din­
ner will be served at 6 p.m.
and the meeting will start
at 7 p.m.
The six candidates for
the Wasco chieftainship
are Garland Brunoe,
George Clements, Grant
Clements Sr., John
Katchia Sr., Alfred Smith
Jr. and Derek Tasympt.
They are invited to par­
ticipate. Each candidate
will be given the opportu­
nity to introduce them­
selves to the Agency Dis­
trict and Wasco people
and present the reasons
why they should be se­
lected as the next Wasco
Chief.
After the candidates
have made their state­
ments, audience mem­
bers will be given the op­
portunity to direct ques­
tions to individual candi­
dates.
An effort will be made
to ensure that as many
audience members as
possible will be able to
have their questions
asked and answered.
Perhaps the most
troublesome aspect of
the Wasco chieftainship
succession process is
the lack of consensus
among the Agency Dis­
trict and Wasco mem­
bers regarding the selec­
tion process for the next
Wasco Chief. During the
meeting a plan to con­
duct an election will be
circulated among those
present.
A follow-up meeting
has tentatively been
scheduled for Wednes­
day, November 16, 2011.
origin, the Navajo Nation does
not regard this as benign or
trivial,” said Brian Lewis, an at­
torney for the tribe. “It takes
appropriate action to maintain
distinctiveness and clarity of
valid name association in the
market and society.”
Urban Outfitters, which has
stores across the country and
overseas, said it has not heard
from the Navajo Nation and has
no plans to alter its products.
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