Native American Indian Language Policy

by: Lisabette Osborn

The responses are due on Wednesday, Dec. 1st, at class time!
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In the article American Indian Language Policy and School Success by John Rehyer, the Native American Language act is discussed. This act was passed on October 30 of 1990 and signed by President Bush. The act says, “The status of the cultures and languages of Native Americans is unique and the United States has the responsibility to act together with Native Americans to ensure the survival of these unique cultures and languages.” The acts purpose is to, “preserve, protect, and promote the rights and freedom of Native Americans to use, practice, and develop Native American languages.” Today the Native American education system is troubled and test scores are far below the average. It has become a question on how to improve the educational system without repeating similar mistake of the past. Rehyer writes that The Native American languages have been pushed to the side and English has been forced upon these tribes.

Organizations such as, U.S. English and English First lobby are fighting for the constitutional amendment to make English the official language of the United States and of the educational system. There are sixteen states that have made English their official language. The author writes that making the official language of the United States English would cause major issues for Native American tribes that are attempting to “maintain their tribal language” and trying to, “restore languages that were suppressed in past years.”

Rehyer discusses the problems with the English only movement for the American Indian education system. Rehyer explains that, “The support for English-only instruction in this country is correlated with the rise and fall of the perceived threat to the "American way of life" by immigrants to this country and thus is a form of xenophobia.” The author discusses that back in the nineteenth century the figurative threat was thought to be from, “many Catholics from southern Europe and Ireland.” The result was emphasis on, “Americanization.” The teaching of the Indian children fell into the hands of government employees who were selected through their ability to pass a general English language Civil Service examination rather than for any special knowledge of Indian education. The teachers were not encouraged to learn anything about their student’s background and traditions. In many cases the Native American children saw their teachers as aliens because they had nothing in common with them. The author says that recently many have described the past European educational efforts to be similar.Rehyer writes that, “Non-Indian Americans need to respect Indian people’s rejection of the old assimilationist approach to Indian education that can be found in the recently passed educational policies of several tribes, including the Navajo the Northern Ute, and the Pasqua Yaqui.”

According to Rehyer the Navajo Tribal leader Peterson Zah declared in the tribal education policies that, “We believe that an excellent education can produce achievement in the basic academic skills and skills required by modern technology and still educate young Navajo citizens in their language, history, government and culture.” The Native American tribes are not denying the importance of learning English. In many cases the tribes agree that English can help better their futures and help their students become more successful in the world today. The Native American tribes are simply attempting to preserve their cultural heritage. According to Rehyer, “The National Association for Bilingual Education Western District Representative sees our native languages nurturing our spirits and hearts and the English language as sustenance for our bodies"

Rehyer says that no tribe had let their native language become more important than the teaching of English. The American Indians want to become bilingual instead of simply throwing out their tribal languages. The tribes believe that by doing this they will become more successful, but also maintain tradition. Rehyer writes that, “The Native American Languages Act of 1990 is the American Indian's answer to the English-only movement, and the Act's bilingual/multicultural educational approach is supported by the dismal historical record of assimilationist approaches to Indian education in the United States.” Rehyer discusses that the reform of education and the movements to make English the main form of language when teaching education often disregards the, “linguistic and cultural issues and propose reforms that probably will hurt rather than help Indian education. “