THE IMPORTANCE OF TEACHING AND SAVING OUR ACOMA LANGUAGE Lorissa Garcia Communication Skills for Applied Indigenous Studies Northern Arizona University December 2013

PRESENTATION  Language Policy  Our History  Our Acoma Language  Ways We Use Our language  Who Does / Doesn’t Speak Acoma & Why  Can Our Acoma Language Be Taught?  Writing Acoma – Good or Bad  How Important Is Our Language To Us?  Ways To Teach, Learn & Save Our Language  Conclusion

LANGUAGE POLICY  Native Languages Act of 1990 – (Public Law ) SEC – reads (in part): It is the policy of the United States to -- (1) preserve, protect, and promote the rights and freedom of Native Americans to use, practice, and develop Native American languages; (2) allow teachers to teach Native American languages (in schools/programs that receive federal funding), even if they are not certified or licensed to teach; (3) encourage and support the use of teaching Native American languages in order to encourage and support -- (A) Native American language survival (United States Congress, 1990) In other words, the U.S. Government wants our language to be saved, taught and used.

WHAT MAKES US SPECIAL  Our strong cultural beliefs and value system Important for teaching our children what’s important to our people  We practice our traditional ways and religious ceremonies Important for younger generations to learn, use and teach their children  Our language is important in all parts of Acoma life

OUR LANGUAGE  We have always spoken Keres 6 other Pueblos in New Mexico speak some type of Keres Around 12,000 people speak Keres in these 7 Pueblos  We have a strong oral tradition For most elders, Acoma is their first language Long ago, Acoma was the only language spoken in all homes  Some of our words are borrowed from the Spanish language Many of our last names were changed to Spanish last names A lot of our words sound like Spanish words The Catholic religion also influenced our language Many of our elders learned English and Spanish from Priests & Nuns

HOW OUR LANGUAGE IS USED  We have 2 ways of speaking Acoma We use it in our traditional teachings and religious doings Prayers Life & Seasonal cycles Songs Advisement We use it when talking to each other In our homes At family events At community events  Many words are used in both ways - “There are many instances in which two synonymous words exist for the same thing. One of these words is used only in ceremonial context; the other is employed in ordinary discourse. The aggregation of words restricted to ritual use constitutes a special ceremonial vocabulary, a vital instrument in the religious and ceremonial life of the Pueblos” (White, 1944, p.167).

OUR LANGUAGE TODAY  There are fewer Acoma people who speak our language There was a time when people were punished for talking Acoma Outsiders came to Acoma Many of our people were forced to go to boarding school  Age of our fluent speakers Elders are the main ones who know how to speak and use our language  Many of us no longer live in homes with other family members or with our grandparents Young parents who don’t speak or understand Acoma live in their own homes When this happens kids learn English first, because they don’t hear Acoma every day  Younger generations are different than the older ones Many young people don’t practice our traditional ways Young people need to see things to learn them Most young people use computers, videos, and games to le arn

CAN OUR LANGUAGE BE TAUGHT? – YES, IT CAN!  International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) Letters and symbols that make the sounds of words Can be used to write and teach our language  Home-based writing class for Acoma people who want to learn Laura V. Garcia, teacher Studied IPA for 20+ years Took IPA symbols to come up with letters and sounds that are found in our language Classes teach students how to use language with family & community members Her husband, Elardo, helps make sure students say the words right and tells them what the words mean, if Mrs. Garcia doesn’t know Class is taught twice a week for two hours each session Students take turns having the classes in their homes, so no building is needed

TEACHING & WRITING ACOMA – GOOD & BAD WHY ACOMA SHOULDN’T BE WRITTEN:  We have always taught our language by speaking it to our kids  We don’t want our religion being taught or learned away from Acoma  Our young people don’t want to learn our language They only want to play video games and use their cell phones and computers  We don’t want outsiders to learn our language WHY ACOMA SHOULD BE WRITTEN:  We want Acoma to be spoken in our home  We want to hear Acoma being spoken in our community  We want kids to learn to speak Acoma before they learn to speak English  We want our people to say the words right  Many people learn better when they SEE & hear words  If EVERYONE writes Acoma the SAME way EVERY TIME, it will be easier to teach & learn it  We want ALL of our people to understand & talk Acoma

As a teacher for over 40 years, I found out that young people learn more when they see and write things, not just hear them. Seeing the words in writing over and over, plus hearing them can help many of our people learn to speak Acoma. We can’t keep changing the way our words are written, because if it keeps changing it makes it harder to learn them. - L.V. Garcia

IS OUR ACOMA LANGUAGE IMPORTANT ENOUGH TO TEACH? I think we can all agree that it is. So, what needs to happen?

WAYS TO TEACH, LEARN & SAVE OUR LANGUAGE  Use a single way (IPA) to teach written Acoma  Having only one way to write words makes reading them and saying the words right a lot easier  Continue the Acoma writing class Use students who have been in the class the longest to help teach new classes  Come up with other ways to use IPA to help students learn our language Dictionary Words and sayings with their meanings Compact Discs (CDs)/MP3s This helps them hear the right way to say Acoma words Videos These can show the ways we talk to each other in our houses and when we talk to other Acoma people

YOU have to want to learn your language in order for any teaching method to help you. I just happen to think that for visual learners, seeing the symbols, learning the sounds they make and putting the two together is helpful and makes learning easier. - L. V.G., teacher I figure that if I know how important it is for young, Acoma people, all Acoma people for that matter, to know our language and if I have a way to help them learn, then it’s my job to teach them - even if it’s a few at a time, because a few is better than none. -L. V.G., teacher Without Mr. and Mrs. Garcia, I wouldn’t be able to share our language with my children, but more important than that, I wouldn’t be able to why it’s so important to our culture and our people. - A. M., student

CONCLUSION  Our language makes us who we are – it makes us Acoma! We use our language in our homes and when we see each other We use it in our traditional ways and ceremonies  We hardly hear little kids and young people talking Acoma, only the elders In order to save our language and teach young people and non-speakers how to speak it, something has to be done  There are many ways to save our language CONTINUE TEACHING IT HEAR IT UNDERSTAND IT WRITE IT READ IT SPEAK IT, EVERYDAY – EVERYWHERE!

THANK YOU –  Acoma Pueblo community  Laura & Elardo Garcia  Acoma writing class participants  Google Images For more information –  Lorissa Garcia – gui ti yai ts’a ✏ ✏ Address: P.O. Box 374 – Acoma, NM ☏ Phone #: (928)