reconnecting-rainydays

[reconnecting-rainydays]

I’m currently living in the Netherlands which makes reconnecting,,,,,, difficult to say the least

I haven’t been to a pow wow in like 6-7 years? Maybe more but I miss them so bad and I don’t have many opportunities to attend any

Anyway, there’s this North America tourism agency here hosting their own “pow wow” in a few weeks and at first I was really excited! But looking more into it the language they used (“real Indians”) and the ppl who’ve reacted to their posts makes me a bit sus about the atmosphere if I go.

It’s clear their audience is older, white Dutch ppl who are into Indianthusiasm and still look at Native ppls through a stereotypical lens, it’s not hosted for Native ppl, it’s done for the white ppl who view them (us?) as a commodity or hobby, smth exotic. I mean it’s a tourism agency for NAm hosting for “pow wow”

I’d love to go to speak with the dancers (who aren’t from my tribe) who will be there but I have this feeling the overall vibe would just make me upset, there’s other ways I can reconnect

I have a few weeks to decide but I just needed to put my feelings out there, if anyone has any thoughts about it feel free to share bc I’m conflicted lol

(not to mention I’d need to travel to an unfamiliar city in the evening/night most likely alone)

[reconnecting-rainydays]

just searching my gg grandmothers name on Facebook bc I was bored made me realize the amount of family in the tribe I actually have…. incredibly bittersweet

not to mention two of her works (she was a master basket weaver) which I’m so happy to even just see pictures of

[reconnecting-rainydays]

Endangered language Challenge: Yurok

Endangered language Challenge — round 1, post 4: Yurok

name(s) of the language Yurok, Chillula, Mita, Pekwan, Rikwa, Sugon, Weitspek, Weitspekan

genealogical affiliation (Algic) >> Algonquian >> Yurok (it is its own branch)

location of the language Northern California coast, USA

number of speakers no surviving native speakers;  Several sources report that Archie Thompson, the oldest living member of California’s Yurok tribe and the last known active speaker raised in the tribal language, passed away in 2013 at the age of 93. According to the Yurok Tribe website:  After a decade of language restoration activities, the Tribe most recently documented that there are now only 11 fluent Yurok speakers, but now have 37 advanced speakers, 60 intermediate speakers and approximately 311 basic speakers.

endangerment situation Decline of the language began during the California Gold Rush, due to the influx of new settlers and the diseases they brought with them. Native American boarding schools initiated by the United States government with the intent of incorporating the native populations of America into mainstream American society increased the rate of decline of the language.  The language is currently considered extinct but undergoing revitalization.

speaker community    Western education was imposed on Yurok children beginning in the late 1850s. The goal of the missionary style of teaching was to eliminate the continued use of cultural and religious teachings that Indian children’s families taught. Children were abused by missionaries for using the Yurok language and observing cultural and ceremonial traditions. In the late 1800s children were removed from the Reservation to Chemawa in Oregon and Sherman Institute in Riverside, California. Today, many elders look back on this period in time as a horrifying experience because they lost their connection to their families, and their culture. Many were not able to learn the Yurok language and did not participate in ceremonies for fear of violence being brought against them by non-Indians.[…] Eventually, Indian children were granted permission to enroll in public schools. Although they were granted access, many faced harsh prejudice and stereotypes. These hardships plagued Indian students for generations, and are major factors in the decline of the Yurok language and traditional ways. The younger generations of Yurok who survived these eras became strong advocates (as elders) for cultural revitalization.  The use of the Yurok language dramatically decreased when non-Indians settled in the Yurok territory. By the early 1900s the Yurok language was near extinction. It took less than 40 years for the language to reach that level. It took another 70 years for the Yurok language to recover. When the language revitalization effort began the use of old records helped new language learners. However, it was through hearing fluent speakers that many young learners fluency level increased. (Yurok tribe)

language breakdown Structural collapse has not been reported. Speakers were forced to shift away from their language completely.

official / legal status Yurok has no official status on state or national level; However, California legislation allows for the tribe to appoint language teachers at their own discretion

Revitalization efforts The Yurok Tribe continues to look to new approaches like the use of digital technology,  internet sites, short stories, and supplemental curriculum. The Tribe continues to increase the number of language classes taught on and off the Reservation, at local schools for young learners and at community classes.

documentation status Yurok has been documented rather thoroughly and for a period of almost 150 years; there are printed and digital resources, dictionaries, teaching materials, mixed media corpora etc., many of them openly accessible; the documentation is sufficiently thorough to allow for revitalization projects, new teaching materials are steadily being created 

Sources & Resources:

https://glottolog.org/resource/languoid/id/yuro1248

http://www.language-archives.org/language/yur

http://odin.linguistlist.org/igt_urls.php?lang=yur

http://endangeredlanguages.com/lang/1041

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yurok_language

https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-archie-thompson-20130407-story.html

http://www.yuroktribe.org/culture/culture.htm

http://www.yuroktribe.org/departments/education/Yurok_Tribe_Language_Program/language.htm

http://www.linguistics.berkeley.edu/~yurok/  http://linguistics.berkeley.edu/~yurok/web/search.php (dictionary)

http://cla.berkeley.edu/languages/yurok.php  (caution: autoplay audio!)

[reconnecting-rainydays]

Aiy-yu-kwee!

Im not sure how often I’ll post on this, but I wanted to make some sort of online journal on my reconnecting journey while living possibly as far away as I can 😩

For context, I’m mixed Yurok (moms side) and Dutch (dads side) and within the past few years I’ve been making an effort to reconnect to my Yurok heritage. I’ve grown up away from northern California my whole life and now I live in the Netherlands, so it’s definitely been difficult.

But!!! I’m not tryna let that stop me. I’ll use this to record random tidbits, the struggles I come across, the conflicting thoughts that I have, my research into the tribe and maybe my family (?), pretty much whatever the heck comes to mind.

I don’t expect anyone to follow this but if you do, I hope you can take something away from my experiences 🫶🏻