More 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.