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>On the 9th of December 1994 the General Assembly of the United Nations
>declared the Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples (1995-2004) as part
>of an effort to bring international attention to the plight of an estimated
>300 million indigenous community members in more than 70 countries.
>
>On Febrary 27th here in Tulsa the local committee for the U. N. Decade of
>Indigenous Peoples again held our annual celebration dinner. The work of
>younger language learners was recognized this year as part of a
>continuation of the previous year's awards. 
>
>During last year's event we held a workshop with storytelling in the local
>Native languages and we recognized the work of four elders in passing
>forward their language.  We gave framed awards written entirely in the
>language of each recipient: Leonard Thompson in Lenape (Delaware), Lottie
>Pratt in Osage, Maggie Marsey in Yuchi, and Evans Ray Satepauhoodle in
>Kiowa.  When I recieved my Ph.D., in recognition of the specialized
>knowledge that I had acquired, the text was written in Latin--which I had
>never studied and could not read.  The Committee hoped to reverse--at least
>symbolically--the centuries-old pattern of universalizing European
>languages as the priviledged languages of the educated within a colonial
>structure.  Instead we sought to elevate particular indigenous languages as
>the domain of gifted and knowledgable persons within local communities.
>Each award was signed by a representative of the Native nation, a leader of
>the Decade Committee under Tulsa Metropolitan Ministries, and Julian Burger
>of Geneva, Switzerland with the United Nations Center for Human Rights.
>
>At the celebration for this year we gave recognition awards to two younger
>community members for their successes in learning their language of
>heritage as a second language.  Again the text was entirely in each of the
>languages.  Daryl Baldwin, member of the Miami Nation of Indiana, was
>recognized for his reclamation work in the Miami language.  The letter of
>nomination from the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma Language & Culture Preservation
>Committee was quite moving:
>"It is important for you to know that the Miami People have no fluent
>speakers.  The last fluent speaker died in the late 1950's.  We have
>extensive written records of our language but the language has been dormant
>for over 40 years.  It was not until Daryl began working with the language
>with intent of "speaking" that serious work began."
>Mr. Baldwin was cited for his extensive work with the communities in
>Indiana and Oklahoma in preparing teaching materials and initiating an
>annual summer language camp.  He studied linguistics in a Master's program

>at the University of Montana specifically for purposes of applying his
>acquired skills to the Miami language.  He has worked to reconstruct the
>language from old tapes and through comparison with related languages.  For
>many attendees the most memorable part of the evening was Mr. Baldwin's
>playing of an audio tape of his two pre-adolescent daughters speaking
>freely in the language.  It is perhaps not surprising that Mr. Baldwin had
>to assist with the translation of his own award certificate into the Miami
>language.
>
>The other recognition went to Richard Codopony, Jr. for his work as a
>community scholar and successful student of the Comanche language.  The
>current community language work among Comanches was summarized by Ronald
>Red Elk, chairman of the Comanche Language and Cultural Preservation
>Committee, which has been active in kindergarten age programming and in
>Master/Apprentice efforts.  Carney Saupitty, who translated the award into
>Comanche, addressed the gathering in Comanche language and  spoke on behalf
>of Mr. Codopony with whom he has worked in the Master/Apprentice program.
>Mr. Codopony's efforts in learning the language was extolled as a hopeful
>example of the possibilities for success in acquiring facility in the
>traditional language.  In a previous videotaped interview for the
>Intertribal Wordpath Society Mr. Codopony spoke of how the process of
>learning the language has greatly influenced his art work rendering a more
>hopeful dimension and new depth to his paintings.
>
>The work of these younger community members is inspiring and offers promise
>for the 27 endangered indigenous languages here in Oklahoma.  According to
>estimates from the Intertribal Wordpath Society, perhaps 1/3 of the
>previously spoken languages are now no longer heard in Oklahoma.  Even the
>largest language communities, such as the Cherokee, Creek, and  Choctaw
>find themselves with very few speakers below the age of 60.  For almost all
>of the smaller communities (with the notable exception of Kickapoo), the
>situation is even more critical.  There are about 30 speakers of Ponca and
>Caddo.  Less than 10 fluent speakers of Lenape (Delaware), Pawnee, Wichita,
>Iowa, and Sauk languages.  The Yuchi language has perhaps five fully fluent
>speakers.
>The awards were offered in the light of these dire circumstances for the
>purpose of bringing encouragement and visibility to the language work that
>is being carried out here in Oklahoma by a scattered group of fluent
>elders, parents, children, and language activists with some significant
>support from linguistics scholars.  Our communities are in great need of
>hope in their struggles to pass forward their languages to future
generations.
>
>At the beginning of the U.N.'s International Decade of the World's
>Indigenous Peoples, Ingrid Washinawatok--who was the tragically murdered
>earlier this month--spoke as the first chairperson for the Decade, calling
>for the voices of indigenous peoples to be heard:  "We must unlock the
>silence of  our people.  Unlock the silence and let us speak to the world."
>

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>
>Richard A. Grounds	
>