Journey To Navajo Nation

Podcast Transcript:

Hello beautiful humans, I hope everybody is having a great day. My Name is Rosa Venegas Hernandez and welcome to my podcast. In today’s segment, we will be talking about the Navajo language, more specifically, why the Navajo language is dying out and how this phenomenon affects the attempts to preserve the Navajo culture. Before we start I would like to add a disclaimer for anybody who is unfamiliar with the Navajo; I will be using the words Navajo and Dine interchangeably. I will also be using the words first nation, indigenous, and native people interchangeably.

Ok, so first and foremost I would like to start this podcast off by reading a quote from Buffy Sainte-Marie, a first nation musician, educator, activist, and so much more. Buffy states, “ language and culture cannot be separated. Language is vital to understanding our unique critical perspectives. Language is a tool that is used to explore and experience our cultures and the perspectives that are embedded in our cultures.”

So, this past March I had the privilege to visit the Navajo Nation, as part of my GBL 102 Journey’s trip. On the trip, we discussed the Dine culture and the social issues the Dine people encounter. In one of our discussions slash reflections after a long day of exploring, one of our Dine guides mentioned that the Navajo language is not spoken by many young people. Vanessa, our Dine guide, told us that only a small portion of the people who live on the reservation are fluent in Navajo. To her, she explained, this was dishearting because the Navajo language is closely tied with the Navajo culture. Aspects of the culture like prayer and ceremonies are done in the Navajo language. Losing the Dine language could mean the gradual loss of the Dine Culture. So, it is no wonder the Navajo language plays a key role in preserving the Navajo culture.

Curious to learn more I embarked on a journey of research. In a study I stumbled across, researchers found that only 18% of Navajo children aged 3-5 spoke the Navajo Language (Batchelder & Markel). This astounded me, but it also reminded me of the youth at home who live in a bilingual household. Many of them don’t speak proper or fluent Spanish. And I started to think: I feel connected to my culture because I know the language. This led me to the thought: language connects us to our cultures. The Navajo elders are connected to their culture through the language. The majority of youth, however, don’t speak Navajo. So then, how do they connect to their culture? More importantly, why DO so little youth speak Navajo?

In an intriguing book published by the University of Arizona Press, there is a small section that is written by Tiffany S. Lee titled “If I Could Speak Navajo, I’d Definitely Speak It 24/7.” In the section, Tiffany explains that many Dine schools do not prioritize language or cultural learning. Schools like Rock Point Community School, that teach a bilingual, English and Navajo, curriculum are rare, despite being mandated to teach the Navajo language and culture (Lee). To understand how Navajo Schools are primarily English speaking schools, we must understand the long painful history of forced assimilation. Boarding schools were designed to forcefully assimilate the Dine people into quote American culture. These boarding schools prohibited traditional Navajo clothing, ceremonies, prayer, customs, and language. These methods of forgetting were instilled in the Navajo youth who were forcibly assimilated (Todachenny). Children were punished if they spoke their language. The Navajo were taught to forget their culture and language. This created a trauma amongst the Navajo people; many parents chose not to teach their children Navajo because of this painful history and this cycle continues. Even now, the implications of forced assimilation are seen through the washing away of the Dine language, and thus culture.

While the Dine community agrees that learning the Navajo language is important for the youth, many cannot agree on who should teach the Navajo language. Many elders believe it is not the duty of the schools, this is again is likely due to the painful past of the boarding schools. While the younger adults believe the schools are responsible for teaching the language. This conflict of ideas amongst who should teach the language in of its self is a problem for the youth trying to learn Navajo. The best route to revitalize the Navajo language amongst the youth, however, is not just one method but multiple methods. Navajo should be taught and spoken at with elders, friends, in school, at home, parks, everywhere (Lee). The Navajo language should be embraced wholeheartedly by the community and the youth will follow.

You know it’s interesting how the odds have been stacked against the Dine people, yet they always find a way to prevail. And this makes me hopeful for the revitalization of the Navajo language. While researching for this podcast, I stumbled upon many initiatives to help preserve and teach the Navajo Language. Initiatives like translating “Finding Nemo” and “Star Wars” to Navajo. You know, Dulingo has a new course on Navajo. Youth like Lyla June are taking back their Native identity and with it their language. There is a push to learn Navajo and preserve the culture. This gives me hope for the future of the Navajo language and culture.

Well beautiful humans, thank you for listening to my podcast. I hope you have a wonderful day and till next time.

Todacheeny, Frank. “Navajo Nation in Crisis: Analysis on the Extreme Loss of Navajo Language Use Amongst Youth.” ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global 76, no. 4 (October 2015).

“Is Navajo a Dying Language?” San Juan Record. March 26, 2008. http://www.sjrnews.com/vi ew/full_story/6745677/article-Is-Navajo-a-dying-language-.

Benally, AnCita, and Denis Yin. “Diné Bizuad [Navajo Language] at a Crossroads: Extinction or Renewal?” Bilingual Research Journal 29, no. 1 (Spring 2005): 85.

Bachelder, Ann, and Sherry Markel. “An Initial Exploration of the Navajo Nation’s Language and Culture Initiative,” January 1, 1997.

Lee, Tiffany S. “‘If I Could Speak Navajo, I’d Definitely Speak It 24/7’: Diné Youth Language Consciousness, Activism, and Reclamation of Diné Identity.” In Diné Perspectives: Revitalizing and Reclaiming Navajo Thought, edited by Lloyd L. Lee and Gregory Cajete, 158–69. Critical Issues in Indigenous Studies. Tucson, AZ: U of Arizona P, 2014.