The legacy of language suppression in Alaska

The recent apology issued to the residents of Gambell by the Presbyterian Church reminds us of the long legacy of language and culture suppression in Alaska. While today many language programs are beginning to flourish, they do so against enormous odds. Decades of official policies which attempted to exterminate Native language and culture have made the process of continued language transmission extremely difficult. The Church was not only complicit in these policies but often actively engaged through mission schools which punished children for speaking their language. So the efforts toward reconciliation are welcome. (Curiously, though, while the Gambell Reconciliation Event was listed as an upcoming event in the church's December newsletter, no mention of the event can be found on the church's website or blog.)

Hopefully reconciliation events such as the one in Gambell will lower the barriers to passing on language and culture. Many speakers still worry that their children and grandchildren will suffer for speaking Native language, just as they suffered when they were young. This may not even be a conscious feeling, but it still creates a barrier. The problem is nicely articulated in a 2008 interview with Mary Huntington, a teacher in Shishmaref. She describes the mixed emotions regarding Native language:

"People say we want our kids to know the language, but at the same time they're not speaking it so that the kids will learn it. People will still say kugluk, which is startle. In their mind they think, yes, [the kids] should learn it, but in their heart they think [the kids] will suffer like they did. The same was true for Eskimo dancing. Even though they realize that it is okay and acceptable now, the punishment they got when they were young -- they can't get past that enough to actually do it. The atmosphere is not ready, and by the time it finally is we might not have the people we have to finally teach it."

After watching this interview that one phrase hangs in my mind. "The atmosphere is not ready." How true. Changing this atmosphere remains the real challenge. So often it is not a lack of curriculum or training or teachers or funding which stand in the way of language revitalization. Rather, it is an atmosphere of doubt and misgiving resulting from so many decades of language suppression.


Here's the video of the interview with Mary Huntington on YouTube (thanks to Sperry Ash for calling my attention to the link).