Indian Time - A Voice from the Eastern Door

Shé:kon Iehiá:tons (greetings editor),

As most people are well aware, Kanien’kéha is making a comeback slowly but surely.  It’s invigorating to know that our community leadership is onboard and are making a conscious effort to promote our inherent language at various levels such as our schools, administration, community events and environmental text such as our road signs. Making the language visible and audible is the key to keeping our language intact and living.  But the key is to speak it.  Speak it in the offices, in the schools, in the community buildings and most importantly if you’re fortunate enough to be a fluent speaker, speak it to your children and to your grandchildren.

We also need to get away from saying that we are placing the burden of the language onto our children who are in enrolled into immersion but to say that we giving them a beautiful gift and one that they will appreciate.  

Most First Nation communities and US tribes have now come to the realization that language cannot be learned in a vacuum meaning inside the walls of a school setting but it’s a great start especially if parents don’t have the language at home.  In fact most parents and caregivers don’t have the language at home so they need to rely on our schools and community programming to obtain the language for themselves and their children.  What I have started to notice is that many parents and caregivers are using the language more and more.  For instance I go to Walmart and I can hear parents speaking to their babies and children using whatever words and phrases they know.  I go to the movies and I hear them speaking there also.  I know some of the parents are not first language speakers yet they are using what they know and that is what we all need to do if we want our language to survive at any level.

And if you say you’re in a course but have no one to talk to at home, heck talk to the mirror, or talk to your pets.  They understand, you know.  

Give them Kanien’kéha names so it’s at least one more word you can practice.

Oh, and I even hear people starting to cheer in Kanien’kéha at the Lacrosse games.  I’m hearing “Hanio!” and it’s a start.  Ever hear the old guys that stand off to the side are speaking all the time?  Boy, I really feel for those who don’t understand because there are some great stories going on and especially at the Three Feathers Cafe.  Sometimes they have to be told to take it easy on their choice of words but our language is alive and well and if we use it more and more it’s definitely going to survive the seven generations.

It may change as languages do and may not be as formal but it will be alive in some form.  A word of advice is to start using the language when your children are still babies.  They don’t learn it at that stage, they just acquire it like a sponge absorbs water.

Our successes really show when we take our immersion students out and about in the community to visit our elders or do little singing tours, and the Ahkwesáhsne Freedom School’s Annual Dinner was a great example of language usage.  I was talking to a lot of the alumni in the language and they haven’t forgotten how to speak.  I couldn’t have felt more pride.

I just to want to end by saying...Akwé:kon Tekanonhwerá:tons tsi shé:kon sewahkwisronhákie ne tóhsa aionkwáhton’se tsi nitewawennò:ten.   Kwah í:ken tsi ióhskats tsi shé:kon eh niionkwaierenhákie tsi nahò:ten shonkwaniaheshà:on ne Shonkwaia’tíson.  Tho kati’ nikawén:nake.

Kaweienonni Cook-Peters