Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current, July 25, 2012, Image 12

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Spilyay tymoo., July 25, 2012, Page 12, Image 12

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Newspaper Page TextMore News from Indian Country Page 12 Spilyay Tymoo July 25, 2012 Tribal members work to preserve their language CROW RESERVATION, Mont. (AP) — O n a weekday morning, teacher Janice Wil son leads a class o f Wyola second-graders in a C row song, their hands and their mouths in motion at the same time. Wyola, a small town not far from the Wyoming border, is a close-knit com m unity on the Crow Reservation. Most o f the people w ho Eve in the tow n are m em bers o f th e tribe. T he children sit at their desks, their eyes on WEson, as they sign the words they sing using the Plains Indian sign language. T heir young voices echo th e w ords o f their ancestors. Before they sing the words to “The Red-Headed Wolf,” WEson reminds them o f the song’s historical context. In the earEer days o f the Crow people, the wolves would run in a famEy caUed a pack and could kill aE kinds o f buffalo, she teEs them. “A nd they would be fat and even the dogs are fat, and when the m en are reaEy fuE and they’re just happy and they smoke then peace pipes, they will say— what?” “Ah ah oolah, ah ah oolah,” the students answer, and then they sing the song a cappeEa, in unison, in confident voices. Thirty-four mEes north o f W yola o n th e cam p u s o f Little Big H o rn College in C row Agency, L anny Real Bird teaches conversational C row to young and o ld er adults. The students, sitting at several long tables, review d o zen s o f w o rd s th e y ’ve learned over the course o f a sem ester, including “eeh,” “ b a a le e ta a ,” “itc h lik ,” “xawiik” (yes, no, good, bad.) They also practice phrases they m ight use in everyday Efe, such as “aweduuxaashik” — “holding firm.” “It goes back to w arrior tim es, w h en o u r enem ies came and we would teE each other Aweduuxaashik!’ It’s al m ost Eke a miEtary saying,” Real Bird said. Like the elementary stu dents, the adults combine spo ken words with sign language. The/novem ents and gestures, which often mimic the words’ actions, reinforce the learn ing o f the language, Real Bird said. Some o f the students want to learn the language to be able to speak it with their par ents; others hope to pass it dow n to a younger genera tion. “My dad is Crow and my whole family is Crow, so it reaEy helps me understand w hat they’re saying,” said Jes sica H ebdon, a business ad m in istratio n stu d en t from H ardin. “Y ou can pick up words and then you can fill in the rest and you u n d er stand a lot more.” T he Crow N atio n has a m e m b e rsh ip o f n early 13,500, with an estimated 75 percent Eving on the reser vation or in towns close by. A bout one-third are chEdren under 1 §; those 18 to 35 also are about o n e-third o f the population. Crow is stEl spoken among <eThis tells us that i f we don't do language immer sion, within 20 y ea rs there w ill be no children speak ing Crow. We have in sight the death o f our language.” adult members o f the south- central M ontana tribe. D ur ing pubEc meetings, an open ing prayer is said in Crow, and other speakers, in the course o f a talk, will m ove easily between EngEsh and Crow. Crows have m ore native speakers left than any tribe in M o n ta n a , said Ja n in e Pease, head o f th e trib e ’s Education Department. “ There’s no other tribe that has this level o f fluency,” Pease said. “A m ong people my age, it’s Eke 85 percent fluency.” The problem for the Crow Tribe Ees w ith its youngest members, Pease said. Parents o f smaE chEdren rely mostly on EngEsh to communicate with their offspring, and the Crow language isn’t getting passed down. Pease has a record o f the decline in fluency am ong Crow chEdren, thanks in part to w ork done by a form er H ardin Schools adm inistra tor, Cheryl Crawley. Crawley, whEe working on a doctorate th ro u g h th e U niversity o f CaEfornia at Berkeley, tracked the level o f fluency am ong school-aged Crow chEdren. An 82 percent fluency rate among Crow chEdren in the H a rd in sch o o ls in 1969 dipped to 24 percent by 2002. A recent study done by the tribe found that only 3 per cent o f 335 preschool stu den ts w ere fluent, and 14 percent had limited fluency. O n the other end o f the spectrum, 36 percent have no knowledge o f the language and 29 percent have limited understanding. “This... teEs us that if we d o n ’t do (language im m er sion), th a t w ithin 20 years th e re w ill b e n o ch ild ren speaking Crow,” Pease said. “We have in sight the death o f our language.” In January, Pease submit ted a grant proposal to im merse tribal H ead Start and Songbird Daycare chEdren 60 percent o f the time in the lan guage at school, and w ork with their parents to boost the level o f fluency. “Language im m ersion is ab o u t fluency,” said Pease, who hopes soon to get a re sponse to the proposal. “This is n o t learning words for fun, cute Ettle things. This is not learning colors and numbers. This is full conversations that 3-year-olds can conduct,” I H ead Start and day care teachers and staff are fluent in Crow, and during desig nated times o f the day under the proposed program they will speak only Crow to the chEdren. “We know from studies other tribes have done that within three months, the chE dren reaEy know full conver sations,” Pease said. “They’re in the environm ent, they’re there by context, they have the repetition and they are, after aE, 3-year-olds. T hey’re marvelous learners; they just soak it aE up.” P aren ts w ho choose to have their chEdren in the im mersion program will have to enroE in the Crow language program at Little Big H orn CoEege. And they will be ex pected to take part in famEy language activities throughout the entire year. “They will have games that they play, songs that they sing and famEy-based activities,” Pease said. Real Bird wiE be one o f the instructors in the parents’ program. H e teaches Plains Indian sign language, and his style o f teaching uses w hat’s caEed a total physical response model o f language learning. G ro w in g up, he knew some rudimentary Plains In dian sign language because his grandmother, an uncle and a n eig hbor all w ere hard o f hearing. ‘W h en I was growing up, my dad would show me how these signs would work,” Real Bird said. “T he easiest one that I always knew is I would go to G randm a and ask for some money. And then ‘yes’ and ‘no ’ and ‘I ’m hungry’ and ‘I’m full.”’ H e attended a presenta tio n in C alifornia o n total physical response, and some thing clicked. T he w om an w ho tau g h t th e class p e r form ed motions and actions in conjunction with speech. “I reaEzed that we have motions already in place and that was the signs,” Real Bird said. Plains Indian sign language is used by many tribes in the United States and Canada. Real Bird has created ma terials that students can use outside the classroom, includ ing flash cards and D V D s for home study and CDs for the car. H e also developed a vo cabulary o f 400 w ords that he teaches along with the ap propriate signs. Real Bird doesn’t focus on gram m ar and spelling. H e emphasizes getting confident w ith the language and con versing with others. “I f somebody is just learn in g g ram m ar an d te n se , they’re not going to see the dynamics o f the conversa tion,” he said. “A nd the basis o f the course is about com munication, and that’s why I try to keep it simple.” I f students w ho learn how to communicate w ant to go on and learn the technical side o f the language, he’s aE for it. . Real Bird said he tries to make his classroom safe for students w ho might be timid about speaking a language they are just learning. “ We have to start at ground zero and assume these folks have no foundation in this, and we’ve got to treat them gende and orient them in a nice way and make this a reaEy good place to be,” he said. Spilyay classifiers Tribal jobs See Amelia Tewee in the personnel departm ent to subm it an application, or call 541-553-3262. View full d e s c rip tio n s and a p p ly online atwww.ctws.org. For jobs at Kah-Nee-Ta, go to kahneeta.com. Compensation & Benefits Coordinator. Perform diversified admin istrative duties to coordinate details of em ployee’s ben efits program. Salary Range $29,077. Yr. Lupe Katchia 553-3498. F o restry/N a tu ral R e sources: Restoration Crew Driver. W orking m em ber of six person crew. Valid Oregon State D rive r’s License re quired. Salary Range $10.50 Hr. Doug Dunlap 553-8205. F o re s try /N a tu ra l R e sources: Restoration Crew Member. W orking m em ber of six person crew. W ill operate sm all powered equipm ent and hand tools w hile per forming Natural Resources restoration projects. Salary Range $10.00 Hr. Doug Dunlap 553-8205. Community Health Nurse. RN needed fo r T riba l Community Health Depart ment to provide nursing ser vices in clinic and community settings such as home, cor rections, and daycare in ad dition to other settings as needed. S alary Range $50,506. Yr. To $55,393. Yr. Elizabeth Johnson 553-2460. Community Health Nutri tionist. RD needed to assist with nutritional assessment, edu cation, and planning in Tribal Community Health Depart ment. Salary Range $45,151. Yr. To $48,339. Yr. Elizabeth Johnson/Linda Porter 553- 2460. Natural Resources Range & Ag. R esto ratio n Crew Driver. Working member of five or six member field crews. Will op era te sm all powered equipm ent and hand tools while performing natural re sources restoration projects in the Range and Ag. Depart ment. Valid Oregon Driver’s License required. TRIBAL MEMBER PEFERENCE. Sal ary Range $10.50 Hr. Jason Smith 553-2011. Open Until Filled Natural Resources Range & Ag. R esto ratio n Crew Members. Working member of five to six member field crews. Will op era te sm all pow ered equipm ent and hand tools while performing natural res toration projects in the Range and Ag. Salary Range $10.00 Hr. Jason Smith 553-2011. Place for Kids Boys & Girls Club Program Coordi nator Part Time. Must have a High School diploma or equivalent. At least one year experience working with diverse youth 5 years of age and older. Ability to orga nize and implement daily ac tiv itie s fo r club m em bers. Must like children! Provide ap propriate and positive guid- ance/supervision for all youth members. Motivate youth and encourage positive interac tions. Salary Range $9.00 Hr. June Smith 553-2323. Police Officer. High School Diploma or equivalent. Must pass DPSST academy within one year of hire. Must be 21 years of age. Possess a valid O regon Driver’s License. No bank ruptcies. No felonies or Do mestic Violence. No misde m eanor convictions within one year. S alary Range $29,675. Yr. To $37,689. Yr. Lt. John Webb 553-2037. Corrections Officers. High School Diploma or eq uivale nt. S alary Range $25,235. Yr. To $36,054. Yr. Lt. John Webb 553-3272. Court Bailiff. High School Diploma or eq uivale nt. S alary Range $25,000. Yr. To $34,800. Yr. Lt. John Webb 553-3343. CRITFC Staff Accountant This position provides support to a broad range of accounting functions including contracts and travel coor dination. Position also audits all travel by reconciling travel to approved rates for reimbursement. The position also tracks investment account performance on a monthly ba sis, and coordinates the development and approval pro cess for all subcontracts. The position also helps with fixed asset inventory, prepares general ledger journal entries, assists in special project management, partici pates in internal and external audit, and works in other areas managed by the Department. Further information at critfc.org. Closing date for applications is August 17. In the Tribal Court of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs C TW S, P e titio n e r , v s. M O N IC A W AHNETAH/ D IA M O N D TEW EE, Respon dent; Case N o . JV168-08. TO M ONICA W A H N ET A H . DIA M O N D TEW EE: YOU ARE HEREBY N O T I F IE D th a t a A nnual A ssisted Guardianship Review has been filed with the Warm Springs Tribal Court. By this notice you are sum m oned to appear in this m atter at a hearing scheduled for 16,h day o f A ugust, 2012 @ 10:00 a.m., at the Warm Springs Tribal C o u rt ARNETTA SALUDO, P e titio n e r , v s. C L IN T O N T O H E T , R espondent; Case N o . ROS9-12. TO ARNETTA S A L U D O / C L IN T O N TOHET: YOU ARE HEREBY N O T I F IE D th at a R E S T R A IN IN G O RD ER has been filed with the Warm Springs Tribal Court. By this notice you are summoned to appear in this m atter at a hearing scheduled for 16 th day o f AU GUST 2012 @ 4:00 pm , at the Warm Springs Tribal C o u rt C TW S, P e titio n e r , v s. F ra n cis S p in o Jr. I S u sie B risen o-T h om p son , R esp on dent; Case N o . DO133/134-09. T O F ran cis S p in o J r ./S u sie B riseno-Thom pson: YOU ARE HEREBY N O T I F IE D th a t a S H O W CAU SE FAILURE T O PAY CHILD SUP P O R T has been filed w ith the Warm Springs Tribal C ourt By this notice you are summoned to ap pear in this m atter at a hearing scheduled for 10 th day o f AU GUST, 2012 @ 9:00 a.m., at the Warm Springs Tribal Court. Paulette H enry, Petitioner, v s. H a ttie H a r t/V e r n o n S am pson, R esp ond en t; Case N o . D O 139-10. T O : H a ttie H a r t/V e r n o n S am p son / P aulette Henry: YOU ARE HEREBY N O T I F IE D that a M odification has been filed with the Warm Springs Tribal Court. By this notice you are summoned to appear in this matter at a hearing scheduled for 9th day o f August 2012 @ 10:00 am, at the Warm Springs Tribal C ourt S H O S H O N A H GARCIA- NO SEY, P e titio n e r , v s. N IC O L E G A R C IA -SM IT H , Respondent; Case N o . DO107- 12. TO: SH O SH O N A H G A R C IA -N O S E Y /N IC O L E GARCIA-SMITH: YOU ARE HEREBY N O T I F IE D that a NAM E CHA NGE has been filed w ith the W arm Springs Tribal Court. By this no tice you are summoned to appear in this m atter at a hearing sched uled for 15 th day o f A ugu st 2012 @ 11:00 am , at the Warm Springs Tribal Court. CTW S, P etitio n er, vs. M ary A n n B r ito /J a y c e W allu latu m S r., R e s p o n d e n t ; C a s e N o . D 0107-09. T O M ary A nn B rito / Jayce W allulatum Sr.: YOU ARE HEREBY N O T I F IE D th a t a S H O W CAU SE FAILURE T O PAY CHILD SUP P O R T has been filed w ith the Warm Springs Tribal C ourt By this notice you are summoned to ap pear in this m atter at a hearing scheduled for 9 th d ay o f A U GUST 2012 @ 3:00 pm , at the Warm Springs Tribal Court. N o r m a M ille r-H e a th , P e titio n e r, vs. N a ta lia O g lsb y - S cott, R e sp o n d e n t; C ase N o . CV159-U. T O N o rm a M iller- H e a th /N a ta lia O glsby-S cott: YOU ARE HEREBY N O T I F IE D that a Civil Complaint hear ing has been scheduled with the Warm Springs Tribal Court. By this notice you are summoned to appear in this matter at a hearing scheduled fo r th e 22°d day o f A ugust, 2012 @ 10 a.m., at the Warm Springs Tribal Court. C TW S, P e titio n e r , v s. KATIE SM IT H , Respondent; Case N o . DO98-09. T O KATIE SMITH: YOU ARE HEREBY N O T I F IE D that a R E V IE W H E A R IN G has been filed with the Warm Springs Tribal Court. By this notice you are summoned to appear in this matter at a hearing scheduled for 20 th day o f AU GUST, 2012 @ 10:00 a.m., at the Warm Springs Tribal C o u rt C TW S, P e titio n e r , v s. WILMA SAUNDERSTBAZA / C A L V IN W IL L IA M S, R e spondent; Case N o . DO13-11. T O : W ILM A S A U N D E R S - BAZA / CALVIN WILLIAMS: Y OU ARE HEREBY N O T I F IE D th a t a SH O W CAUSE FAILURE T O COMPLY has been filed with the Warm Springs Tribal Court. By this notice you are sum m oned to appear in this m atter at a hearing scheduled for the 20 th day o f AUGUST 2012 @ 11:00 am, at the Warm Springs Tribal Court.