Catawba Language Revitalization Efforts

       Indian nations in the United States, from forced and pressure to assimilate and through institutions like the Indian boarding schools have caused an extremely low numbers of native speakers of Native languages. One approach by U.S. government’s to destroy Native culture was through their languages; they were forbidden to speak their languages and speak English instead. In recent years, language revitalization has played a key role in Native cultural revitalization. The Catawba Indian Nation of South Carolina’s last fluent speaker, Sallie Brown, passed away in 1952.

        In 2003, Catawba Indian Nation lost their funding for their cultural preservation, which supported languages classes and things of that nature. Currently, they do hold languages classes at the Catawba Cultural Center. According to their newsletter, one language class started in January of this year, where they meet every Monday at the Catawba Cultural Center. The classes start out by teaching the basics, like animals and numbers, and eventually those taking the class will take part in a namegiving ceremony. In the Catawba Indian Nation Newsletter, Ronnie Beck, who focuses writes the “Cultural Corner” of the newsletter, expresses how important it is that members of Catawba nation learn about their heritage to keep their culture and traditions alive because there are at risk of dying out. The Catawba Cultural Center is recently working on a website and though the section on language has not yet been completed it appears that they are going to offer a Catawba language book online to further educate the Catawba people in their language.

References:

Catawba Indian Nation. “Catawba Cultural Preservation: Language,” http://sites.google.com/site/catawbaculturalpreservation/language (accessed April 27, 2010).

Catawba Indian Nation. “Catawba Indian Nation Newsletter: 1^st Quarter January-March 2010,” Catawba Indian Nation. http://www.catawbaindiannation.com/CIN-1stQuarter-Newsletter.pdf (accessed April 28, 2010).

Neumark, Jared. “Language In Crisis: Process of Recovery is Complex,” Creative Loafing: News and Politics.

http://charlotte.creativeloafing.com/gyrobase/a_language_in_crisis/Content?oid=82507 (accessed April 28, 2010).

White, Frederick. “Rethinking Native American Language Revitalization” American Indian Quarterly 30 (2006): 91-109.