Officials make strides in effort to preserve Keres language

By Jim Tiffin
Cibola County Bureau

RIO PUERCO — Pueblo of Laguna tribal officials took an historical step Friday in assuring the Laguna language and culture would not be lost for future generations.

Laguna Gov. Ronald Johnson and New Mexico Secretary of Education, Dr. Veronica Garcia, signed an agreement allowing the tribe to select members who will teach its language and culture to students at the Laguna Middle/high School for generations to come.

Tribal and state officials termed the signing a true historical event because of the impact teaching the language to the tribe's youth will have on them today and in the future.

"This really is a significant step," Johnson said, "Language is important to the retention of culture, our way life.

"It's not only how we dress, it's how we eat, how we worship," he said.

Losing language is a 'crime'
Garcia said it clearly, American Indians used to speak their language at home and in public.

When the white man brought schools to the tribes, it became forbidden to speak the native language in the white man's school and American Indian youth got into trouble.

"At one time, Indian youth were taken from their families (to go the schools) and they lost their culture,"Garcia said.

"Losing language and culture is a crime for anyone,"she said.

"The ability to speak our own language is very important,"Johnson said.

"I want to thank Gov. Richardson and member of his administration for all they have done to improve relationships with the tribes,"he said.

"The passage of the Indian Education Act in 2003 means the state is coming to recognize that Indian culture is important and it is vital that we work together."

"I worked hard with the bureaucracy in the federal government, I had them scratching their heads as they asked what kind of accountability and credentials there are going to be," Garcia said.

The tribe, the elders, who in your community will select those who are eligible to teach the language and culture, will send the information to me, and then I will certify and credential them,"she said.

Language is honored
"When a language is taught in schools, that language is honored and valued. Your youth will recognize that as they learn your language," she said.

Penny Bird (tribal government) are doing is making sure that five, 10, 15 years down the road, the Laguna language and culture will continue.

Fourteen students from Laguna-Acoma Middle/High School (LAHS) attended the ceremony with teachers and Grants-Cibola County School District officials. LAHS is in the public school district.

Tribal Council member Gaylord Siow asked the students that when they returned to school to convey what happened in the conference room Friday and tell their peers what the tribal leaders have done to help the students and tribal youth continue to learn the language and culture.

Coming full circle
First Lt. Gov. Virgil Siow said, "We've come full circle in having our language and culture continue into the future," a reference to earlier American Indians being in trouble for speaking their native tongue.

Former Republican Congressman and Secretary of the Interior from 1988-1993, Manual Lujan, was present for the ceremony and told the Independent, "This is a wonderful idea. My daddy used to say that when you speak two languages you eat with two hands. 'Being aware of two cultures is what's going on.'"

Benefits the futureGeoff Kie, a member of the Laguna Middle School student council said "This really benefits the future.This is going to help generation after generation and will help keep the traditions of the tribe alive."

Following the ceremony, Johnson said that it's not just the youth that don't speak the language, there are also some grandparents who no longer speak the Laguna Keres language.

"We, the tribal government, have come to realize that we can't just leave it to the schools. This has to be a community effort," he said.

"We have six communities (Pueblo villages) and the challenge is to provide language classes in the villages." Some classes are already under way in some of the villages, he said.

"We also have organized language classes in our Early Childhood and Headstart programs."

Following the meeting, Grants-Cibola County School District Director of Indian Education Dr. Gloria A. Hale, said the event was truly significant.

She said some parents on the west side of the school district are now asking her when a Navajo language program can be started.

The Pueblo of Acoma went through this a year ago, she said.

The Acoma Keres language is now being taught (at LAHS).

The Acoma and Laguna Keres languages are similar, many of the words are the same, but the dialects are different.

— To contact reporter Jim Tiffin call (505) 287-2197 or e-mail: tiffin.independent@yahoo.com