When Native Tongues Go Silent. Idaho State Moves Toward Solutions

Cherokee:
 Yigaquu osaniyu adanvto adadoligi nigohilvi nasquv utloyasdi nihi
 (May the Great Spirit's Blessings Always Be With You)


Ea Nigada Qusdi Idadadvhn
 (All My Relations In Creation)


Lakota: Wakan Tankan Nici Un (May the Great Spirit walk with you) Ho! Mitakuye Oyasin
 (We Are All Related)

"Languages around the world are disappearing at a fantastic rate, especially indigenous languages in areas where European nations took control," - Beverly Klug, Idaho State University education professor. 

According to Marianne Mithun, author of The Languages of Native North America, there are languages with no clear distinction between nouns and verbs, and languages that can give tense and conditionality to adjectives. We have languages that use different pronouns for a 'we' that includes the person being addressed, and a 'we' that excludes that person. How can we retain a record of people here on Earth who have created alternative linguistic structures that are even more unfamiliar to English speakers? How can educators open minds to the astonishing variety of ways human verbal communication can be categorized and organized?

 I first met Beverly Klug in 2004 when I began a stint of teaching for four years at Idaho State University. We had a vibrant exchange on topics from literature in the classroom to the rampant discrimination against Native Americans that was evident in Southeast Idaho. That is why I was delighted to see her as one of the organizers of a "Symposium on Indigenous Languages: Retention and Revitalization," geared to increase discussion and awareness of the issues concerning indigenous language loss last April.

Even though federal legislation exists protecting Native languages and Executive Orders have been issued by Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama reiterating that language and culture are to be part of the education provided for American Indian children in the United States, this information is widely unknown or afforded in public schools. Speakers will provide many answers concerning this area of inquiry for those who attend, with opportunities for discussion for participants.

Speakers included:

Christine Sims, Pueblo of Acoma, "Importance of Indigenous Languages Revival and Retention"; who also showed a film on Wampanoag language efforts followed by discussion.

director of the Center for American Indian Languages at the University of Utah, disucssed the work being done regarding revitalization of Shoshoni and the need for doing so.

 Sky Hopinka, a member of the Hochunk Nation and Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians, gave a talk on "Language Loss and Effects on Culture";  Hopinka will spoke on a new methodology being used to teach the Chinuk Wawa language to tribal members; with a film on Hawaiian language revitalization efforts followed by discussion.

Michael Fillerup, supervisor, English as a Second Language in Flagstaff, Ariz., schools discussed Navajo Immersion schools/bilingual education programs and "How to start a successful language preservation program in 10 easy steps."

Children from Candy Titus's language and cultural classes at Lillian Vallely School in Blackfoot/Fort Hall shared their Native culture with audiences followed by reading of a Shoshoni story by Drusilla Gould.

There was a Panel discussion by members of the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes concerning their language retention and revitalization efforts. Languages around the world are disappearing at a fantastic rate, especially indigenous languages in areas where European nations took control, according to Beverly Klug, ISU education professor and a symposium organizer. The idea that every indigenous person should speak only the language of those who were now in power had its beginnings in the doctrine of "Doctrine of Discovery," which gave power to the Church and European monarchs over the lands and peoples of non-Christian countries in the service of the Christian God.

In the United States this was followed by the concept of "Manifest Destiny," again including this idea that subjugation of Native peoples was the ultimate goal of the government, and that this included eliminating Tribal languages. Educational systems became the tool by which this process was to occur. After it was apparent that this policy proved to be disastrous for Native peoples, plunging them into a world where they were unable to communicate with their own family members and, in general, not accepted as equal to Euro-Americans, the government reversed its course in the late 1920s following an investigation by Lewis Meriam and his team (referred to as the "1928 Meriam Report"). In trying to protect their Native languages, indigenous peoples in the United States found a strong leader in Patricia Ann Locke, Lakota and Chippewa, who grew up on the Ft. Hall Shoshone-Bannock Reservation. Among her decades of working as an educator from elementary to the university levels, she advocated strongly for Native rights in education. She was responsible for pushing for legislation for the preservation of indigenous languages. In 1991, she won a MacArthur Foundation fellowship for her work to save Tribal languages that were on the brink of extinction. Locke passed away in 2001.

The symposium was supported in part by a grant from the Idaho Humanities Council, a state-based program of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Visit www.idahohumanities.org for more information on the Idaho Humanities Council. Other sponsors include the ISU College of Education, ISU College of Arts and Letters, Department of Anthropology, the ISU Office of Research, and the ISU Cultural Affairs Council. Additional members of the symposium committee are Christopher Loether, ISU anthropology professor; Drusilla Gould, Shoshone-Bannock Tribal Member and senior lecturer, ISU Department of Anthropology; and Sherice Gould, Language and Cultural Preservation Department Manager, Shoshone-Bannock Tribes. Literally hundreds of tongues are still spoken only by a handful of aging people; hundreds more have gone silent. This symposium is Highly recommended to anyone interested in linguistics, and a must-see for any conlanger.

Crapo Announces Staff Changes in Washington, D.C.

Makes changes to legislative, communications staff Idaho Senator Mike Crapo is announcing two staff changes in his Washington, D.C., office. Peter Stegner is Crapo’s new Legislative Assistant for environment, natural resources and other issues related to Crapo’s membership on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.  Stegner brings with him a wealth of experience, having previously served as Regional Director and Staff Assistant at the North-Central Regional Office in Lewiston for more than three years, and most recently as Crapo’s Media Director based out of Washington, D.C.  A native of North Idaho, he holds a Master’s in English Literature and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Idaho. Judd Deere has been hired to serve as Crapo’s New Media Director and will assist with various media duties, including the implementation of innovative social media platforms, such as Crapo’s new Twitter account, https://twitter.com/#!/MikeCrapo.  He will also manage the senator’s Facebook and YouTube accounts, and the official website.  A native of Benton, Arkansas, Judd previously worked for Senator John Boozman as the Correspondence and Systems Director, and has also worked as Field Director for the Republican Party of Arkansas.  Judd graduated from Lyon College in Batesville, Arkansas, with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and History.   Judd’s background and knowledge of new media ensure success in finding creative avenues for the senator to interact with his constituents.

One step closer to curing autism

Idaho State University researchers make discovery about potential causes of autism

Posted June 6, 2012

A team of Idaho State University researchers have discovered that fish show autism-like gene expression after exposure to water containing psychoactive pharmaceuticals, according to research published June 6 in the open access journal PLoS ONE.

The results may suggest an environmental trigger for autism, although this finding may only apply to genetically predisposed individuals.

Michael Thomas

"The psychoactive pharmaceuticals were tested at concentrations similar to those found in aquatic systems," said Michael Thomas, ISU associate professor of biological sciences and the lead researcher in the project. "This discovery implies that these drugs might be involved in the increase in autism in the past 30 years."

Thomas said that although these findings are significant, it is too early to draw firm conclusions about the study.

"We've really proposed a new question, but not any new answers," he said. "But asking a new question is the first step towards learning something new, and in many ways, it's the most important step. It is our hope that this new question will useful for the autism research community, and eventually lead to fruitful new answers. It is important to remember that much more research on this topic is needed – it's not time to draw any conclusions, yet."

The team discovered that certain psychoactive pharmaceuticals induced gene expression patterns in a fish model that mimic expression patterns in humans with autism. The gene expression patterns are associated with neurological development and growth.

The fish exposed to pharmaceuticals also displayed behavioral characteristics that indicate anxiety-like symptoms. This shows that gene expression induced by drugs had a broader impact on the fish.

The drugs studied include an anti-seizure drug carbamazepine and two anti-depression drugs, fluoxetine and venlafaxine. These represent some of the most frequently prescribed pharmaceuticals. The introduction of fluoxetine and venlafaxine correspond to periods of rapid increase in the prevalence of autism, Thomas said.

This raises the possibility that pregnant women who drink water containing trace concentrations of these drugs will pass them along to the fetus, according to Thomas. The fetus has a leaky blood-brain-barrier, which allows drugs to pass directly into the developing brain.

"The drugs affect activity of serotonin and other neurotransmitters, which are important in the development of neurological networks and, basically, affect how the brain is wired," Thomas said.

Again, Thomas emphasized that his study is early-stage work and more study is needed – at this time there is no reason for pregnant women to be concerned about results of the study.

The journal PLoS ONE is published by the Public Library of Science and is among the top tier of research journals and is noted for publishing work that is both cutting-edge and potentially transformative. This study can be viewed online at http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0032917.

The ISU research team involved with this project included Loubin Yang, biological sciences research assistant professor, and ISU graduate students Parag Joshi, Victor Ezike and Gauray Kaushik. For the project, Thomas also collaborated with Rebecca Klaper at the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee School for Freshwater Sciences.

The title of the study is "Psychoactive pharmaceuticals induce fish gene expression profiles associated with human idiopathic autism."

"This project is an exciting contribution to the biomedical sciences from Idaho State University, and creates interesting opportunities for students to become involved in cutting-edge research in ways that are not possible at larger institutions," Yang said.

Richard Jacobsen, ISU executive director for the Office of Research and Technology Transfer commented on team's research.

"This is great research because if focuses on the potential effects of pharmaceuticals in drinking water and the results may be useful for additional applications beyond fish," Jacobsen said. "It is also an excellent example of cooperative research with other universities, in particular, the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee's School of Freshwater Sciences.