Guidelines for Strengthening Indigenous Languages
The following guidelines offer suggestions for our Elders, parents, children and educators to use in strengthening their heritage language with support from the Native community, schools, linguists and education agencies. It is essential that we speak our own languages in our daily lives to help us instill pride, knowledge and respect in our children. Language learning takes dedication, persistence, devotion, motivation and support from everyone living in the community. By laying out these guidelines, we hope to set a foundation that will help us continue learning and promoting all of our languages.
The guidance offered in the following pages is intended to provide assistance to the local language advisory committees created under Senate Bill 103 that are responsible for making recommendations regarding the future of the heritage language in their community. The underlying theme is, to keep a language going, we must use it in our daily activities at home and in the community so that it is transmitted and acquired naturally. The schools serve a supportive role by providing appropriate language immersion programs that strengthen the language used in the community. It is hoped that these guidelines will promote the daily use of Indigenous languages throughout Alaska and that our educational institutions will support us in perpetuating our languages.
Native educators from throughout the state contributed to the development of these guidelines through a series of workshops and meetings associated with the Alaska Rural Systemic Initiative. Representatives of the Native educator organizations listed on the first page of this booklet participated in the meetings and ratified the final document. While there are special meanings that are sometimes used to distinguish between "Indigenous languages" and "heritage languages," the terms are used interchangeably in this document to refer to languages that originated in the particular region in which they are used (Indigenous) and are the embodiment of the cultural heritage of that region. Using these guidelines will expand the knowledge base and range of insights and expertise available to help schools and communities nurture and pass on their cultural heritage with respect and integrity.
Throughout this document, Elders are recognized as the primary source of language expertise and cultural knowledge. The identification of "Elders" as culture-bearers is not simply a matter of chronological age, but a function of the respect accorded to individuals in each community who exemplify the values and lifeways of the local culture and who possess the wisdom and willingness to pass their knowledge on to future generations. Respected Elders serve as the philosophers, professors and visionaries of a cultural community. In addition, many aspects of cultural knowledge can be learned from other members of a community who have not yet been recognized as Elders, but seek to practice and teach local lifeways in a culturally-appropriate manner.
Along with these guidelines are a set of general recommendations aimed at stipulating the kind of steps that need to be taken to achieve the goals that have been outlined, as well as reference material to assist in that endeavor. State and federal agencies, universities, school districts and Native communities are all encouraged to review their policies, programs and practices and to adopt these guidelines and recommendations wherever appropriate. In so doing, the educational, linguistic and cultural development of students throughout Alaska will be enriched and the future well-being of the communities being served will be enhanced." -From Publisher
