Native American Archives - Page 24 of 24

Technology aids Cherokee language re-emergence

By Ryan Saylor, thecitywire.com

A once dying language last modernized nearly 200 years ago has been given new life in the 21st century, with some hoping it pushes beyond 3,000 the number of people who are fluent in the Native American tongue.

The comeback of the Cherokee language, translated into written form in the early 1800s, has been fueled by the work of the Cherokee Nation, based in Tahlequah, Okla.

According to Roy Boney, a language technology specialist with the tribe, the push for a reemergence of the language was introduced by tribal leaders, who introduced the Cherokee Nation Immersion Charter School for students from 3-years-old to 7th grade.

“I was hired several years ago to develop materials for the school,” Boney said. “They started off in (pre-Kindergarten) and they got to the older grades and needed some technology.”

In searching for solution to the school’s technology problem, Boney and his colleagues in the tribe set out on a mission to find technology that could be blended with the Cherokee language.

“We started searching for a solution to that problem and we discovered the Apple included a Cherokee font and keyboard on their desktops since 2003,” he said.

That led the tribe to work with Apple for inclusion of the language on both the iPhone and iPad devices, Boney explained.

CHEROKEE ON WINDOWS
In continuing the tribe’s quest for more and better technology for immersion classrooms, a partnership was developed with Microsoft to translate the Windows operating system into Cherokee.

“We learned about localization — to translate their software into another language,” Boney said. “We started that project last year and Windows 8 came out in Cherokee.”

According to Carla Hurd, the Local Language Program’s senior program manager at Microsoft, Cherokee was the first Native American language to be included in the operating system.

“There are some indigenous languages, like Maori in New Zealand and Welsh, but the point of Cherokee is it’s the first Native American language we’ve ever done,” she said. “It’s very notable.”

Lois Leach was one of the native Cherokee translators to work on the project. She said the work was long and exhausting, lasting for nine months. Leach said she clocked around 2,000 hours on the project, which she worked on during evenings and weekends in addition to working her full-time job.

‘FOLDER’ ISSUES
Leach said she and other translators were initially unaware of how big of a project they were involved in.

“We really didn’t think it would be this widespread,” she said. “At first, it was just a project were working on. But when we finally did see when it was launched into the computer itself, it was really something. We could not see that far, really, I don’t think.”

One of the challenges faced by the many translators, both Cherokee staff and volunteers, was developing new words and phrases in Cherokee for simple objects on a computer.

“This was really (about) getting into the meanings of things and what we had to do to guide somebody through the computer. It was not that easy,” Leach said.

An example of an English word without a Cherokee equivalent was “folder.”

“Folder — it just said you are putting papers in a container,” she said.

IMMERSION TRAINING
Boney said when all was said and done, Leach and the team of translators provided Microsoft with nearly 180,000 terms and phrases that were included in Windows 8.

He said even though the operating system is being used in the immersion school and is available for free for Microsoft users, there is still amazement by individuals in and out of the tribe regarding Windows 8 in Cherokee.

“People are in awe to see our language in technology,” he said.

While the Windows 8 project was a long, grueling project, this is just the first of many projects to spread the usage of the Cherokee Nation’s native tongue beyond its 3,000 speakers.

The translation team is working on projects with Google, Facebook and Apple in order to expand the language beyond eastern Oklahoma and parts of North Caroline, Boney said.

TRIBAL HISTORY
He believes the tribe’s history is one of the reasons Cherokee is seeing a resurgence as a language.

“What’s been interesting about a lot of this work is historically, the Cherokees were unique in that we had one man (Sequoyah) develop the writing system. That developed a curiosity in the language. A lot of people have heard about it and fascinated by it. We have our own writing system and we have a unique writing system,” Boney said. “I think that’s part of the appeal, is getting that writing system into technology because it is unique.”

Hurd said she was unable to disclose whether Microsoft would be releasing any more Native American language versions of Windows due to company policies.

“We’re always looking to expand our language set, whether that’s Native American or not,” she added.

Leach said she was thrilled to be a part of the Windows 8 project and was looking forward to more translation projects in the future.

“To me, I guess that’s really a good thing because it’s needed in our culture because they were getting to where they were forgetting it,” she said.

Julie Hubbard, communications supervisor with the Cherokee Nation, said individuals across the Fort Smith and eastern Oklahoma region interested in learning Cherokee could attend a class from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., in Evening Shade, Okla., on Monday evenings from now through May 6. Classes are free and open to the public.

Link here for more information on technology and the Cherokee language.

Native American Appointed to Prestigious National Travel Advisory Board

Indian Country Today Media Network

Sherry L. Rupert, Paiute and Washoe, has been appointed as one of six new members to the Travel and Tourism Advisory Board by U.S. Deputy Secretary of Commerce Rebecca Blank. She is the lone American Indian member of the board.

The board, established in 2003, serves as the advisory body to the Secretary of Commerce on matters relating to the travel and tourism industry in the United States. Its members represent a broad cross-section of the industry, including transportation services, financial services, and hotels and restaurants, as well as a mix of small and large firms from across the country.

Rupert is a vice president of the American Indian Alaska Native Tourism Association and the excutive director of the Nevada Indian Commission.

“The travel and tourism industry is so important to our nation’s economy and important to many of our tribal communities,” Rupert said. “This opportunity is a huge step forward for Indian country. Indian country now has a seat at the table.”

With more than 20 years of tribal, public and private business experience, she possesses a strong background in accounting, finance, business administration, tribal tourism and Indian Affairs. Rupert is a graduate of the University of Nevada, Reno with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration and is currently the President of the Native American Chapter of the University of Nevada, Reno Alumni Association.

She has presented at numerous tribal, state, regional and national conferences and was elected to her second term as President of the Governors’ Interstate Indian Council, and was formerly the Treasurer for two terms. The Governors’ Interstate Indian Council is a national organization promoting and protecting the various interests, welfare and well-being of American Indian people of the United States and in particular those American Indian residents within the various participating states of the Governors’ Interstate Indian Council.

Sherry is the Chairwoman of the Nevada Indian Territory, a marketing arm of the Nevada Commission on Tourism, and was awarded the 2009 and 2007 Excellence in Tourism Award as well as the 2011 Statewide Excellence in Tourism Award from the Nevada Commission on Tourism for her success in promoting and advancing tourism in Indian country. She was also awarded the 2009 Human and Civil Rights Award from the Nevada State Education Association. Ms. Rupert distinguished herself in her term as Treasurer for the American Indian Alaska Native Tourism Association (AIANTA) Board of Directors (Southwest Region Representative) and during her service on the AIANTA Executive Committee; as a consequence, she was elected Vice-President of the Board of Directors.

Oklahoma Tornadoes: New Website Collects Aid for Native Victims

Brian Daffron, Indian Country Today Media Network

The lives of at least 50 Native families have been turned upside down, many of them literally, by the tornadoes that devastated Oklahoma in May. One of the many groups reaching out to help is coordinating and sending aid directly to Indian families affected by this disaster.

As another tornado tore through El Reno, Yukon and south Oklahoma City on Friday May 31—also touching down in Moore, still reeling from the devastating May 20 tornado that killed 24—Native people from throughout Indian country were already reaching out to help their fellows.

The El Reno Indian Clinic, which lies within the Cheyenne & Arapaho tribal jurisdiction, was also damaged in the storms. None of the 42 fatalities reported—18 people, including three well known storm chasers doing research, perished in Friday’s five tornadoes—were American Indian. More than 20 American Indian families lost their homes in the May 20 tornado alone, according to the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C., from tribes including Arapaho, Cherokee, Choctaw, Comanche, Delaware, Jicarilla Apache, Kickapoo, Kiowa, Pawnee, and Shawnee.

While several individual tribes are offering aid, a new group has sprung up to channel aid directly to Indian families themselves. At Trails of H.O.P.E. (Helping Our People Earnestly), people can donate directly to Native American families.

The website is the idea of Oklahoma City area social worker Cortney Yarholar, who is of the Sac & Fox, Creek, Pawnee and Otoe tribes. He was inspired, he said, by words he had been told while growing up.

“ ‘Don’t ask for permission,’ his family elders often told him. ” ‘If you see something that needs to be done, just go do it.’ ”

Yarholar’s wife is from Moore, so he had seen firsthand the aftermath of both the 1999 and 2003 tornadoes that had hit the area. Her family had lost their home both times. He also knew that although FEMA and the American Red Cross handled immediate relief needs, these types of government and non-profit organizations are not always there for the long term. To fill this gap, Yarholar collaborated with the website Last Real Indians to create Trails of H.O.P.E., which is collecting donations to go directly to the Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference disaster response committee. The Oklahoma Indian Missionary is the governing body of the American Indian Methodist churches within Oklahoma and exists to assist American Indian disaster victims.

“They’re really in it for the long haul, the long term, in helping families rebuild their lives—not only their physical homes but also their lives,” Yarholar said.

As of Monday June 3 the site had raised $5,000, said David Wilson, Choctaw tribal member and the conference superintendent of the missionary. The funds are being used to obtain temporary housing and car rental assistance for storm victims. The missionary has also helped funnel grief-counseling referrals through the Oklahoma City Indian Clinic and assisted in cleanup.

“Because of our various connections with the tribes, we usually know what tribes are going to offer, what support we might get from different agencies that the general public might not have access to,” said Wilson.

The missionary has received pledges for more support from throughout the country, Wilson said, adding that the group will continue working with both the individuals and tribes affected for as long as is necessary.

“Families have gone in to recover as much as they can,” said Wilson. “What we’ve worked on for the last three or four days is helping folks with temporary assistance, with housing. We’ll continue to work with that. We’ll begin looking at the rebuilding stage.”

Trails of H.O.P.E.’s efforts will not stop with this spate of tornadoes, Wilson said, even when the Oklahoma Missionary moves on as it travels throughout the country to help with other disasters.

“Thinking realistically, there will be another disaster somewhere in Indian Country,” Yarholar said. “That way, it will give [the missionary] an opportunity to respond in a timely manner.”

Donations to Trails of H.O.P.E. can be made online through the group’s website, or by sending checks directly to the Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference, 3020 S. Harvey, OKC, OK 73109. ATTN: Disaster Relief.

More on the Oklahoma tornadoes and relief efforts:

Tornadoes Pummel Moore and Oklahoma City Anew; At Least Five Killed

Oklahoma Awakes to Grim New Reality as Recovery Efforts Begin

President Obama to Oklahoma: Every Resource Is at Your Disposal

More Than 50 Dead as Tornado Decimates Moore, Oklahoma, Hometown of Rep. Tom Cole, and Levels School

Will Endangered Seattle School Murals Be Saved?

andrew-morrison-mural-idle-no-more — Courtesy Andrew Morrison

Richard Walker, Indian Country Today Media Network

SEATTLE – For months, murals depicting Chief Joseph, Chief Seattle, and Natives in regalia and on horseback have been threatened with demolition—but a grassroots effort to save them may yet prove successful.

Supporters say the murals on the outside walls of the Seattle School District’s Wilson-Pacific Building are more than art. They are symbolic of the indigenous presence in the Pacific Northwest’s largest city.

Artist Andrew Morrison, Haida/Apache, painted the murals to honor the area’s Native peoples and historical leaders, such as Chief Si’ahl, the Duwamish-Suquamish leader for whom the City of Seattle is named.

Since 1974, Wilson-Pacific has been the home of American Indian Heritage School, now called American Indian Heritage Middle College High School. The school is located in Seattle’s Licton Springs neighborhood, which takes its name from the Lushootseed word “Liq’tid” (LEEK-teed), for the reddish mud of the springs that are still visible today.

So when the school was threatened with demolition to make way for construction of a new elementary and middle school—and Indian Heritage School students moved to a classroom at a nearby mall—the indigenous community rallied.

As of this writing, it appears their voices are being heard. Construction of a new elementary and middle school will still happen, but there’s a chance the walls containing the murals will be incorporated into the new school buildings. The project architect, Mahlum, has a reputation for engaging communities in the design process and incorporating into the final design those things that are important to the community. Mahlum’s previous Native-community projects include the Puyallup Tribe’s Chief Leschi School.

“The district wants to honor this work and has reached out to have ongoing discussions with the artist on how to preserve the murals,” Seattle School District project manager Eric Becker told ICTMN through the district’s public information office. “It is the district’s intent to honor the murals. Art historians have suggested several ways that this might happen. We will continue to work with the artist, design team and community to determine which option will be selected.”

Regarding how the campus’s role in Native education and racial integration might be represented in the new school buildings (as Wilson-Pacific School, it was one of the first integrated schools in Seattle), Becker said, “The School Design Advisory Team, comprised of district staff, the architect and community members, will meet to discuss all aspects of the new [elementary and middle school].”

Superintendent Jose Banda wrote in a May 10 letter to Indian Heritage School families, “a design team will be formed to look at future uses and design of the campus.” In addition, he invited applicants for a new Native American Advisory Committee to advise the district on implementing Native American education in local schools.

Tracy Rector, a filmmaker and mayor-appointed member of the Seattle Arts Commission, participated in the rallies to save Indian Heritage School and the murals.

“Andrew has rallied and inspired people to come around and support this sacred historical space for Native American families,” said Rector, Seminole/Choctaw. “It’s been powerful. It sounded like the school district was bent on tearing [the school and murals] down. This has changed the game quite a bit.”

Morrison, his brother and sister attended American Indian Heritage School, one of five local schools in which students receive more individualized attention and can take community college courses. In addition, Indian Heritage School offers culturally-based classes, and hosts an annual pow-wow, Native Youth Conference, and Native basketball tournaments. Morrison remembers the school being “the nucleus of the community.”

According to Morrison, “By 1992, the success of Indian Heritage [School] could not be denied. Not only did Indian Heritage graduate every student, but graduates also enrolled in post-secondary or vocational school.” When the school celebrated its 20^th anniversary in 1994, it was noted that every student that graduated from Indian Heritage School in the two previous years enrolled in college.

In 2001, after his freshman year of college, Morrison volunteered at the school and painted the first of his 25-foot murals, often enlisting the help of students and community members.

The controversy began last year, after the district proposed a tax levy to replace the 60-year-old Wilson-Pacific buildings with a new middle school and elementary school. The Urban Native Education Alliance and the United Indians of All Tribes Foundation called for the district to renovate Wilson-Pacific, rather than demolish it, in so doing ensuring the Indian Heritage School would continue and the murals would be preserved.

The tax levy was approved by voters. The school district made plans to move Indian Heritage School students to the middle college program at Northgate Mall for the 2013-14 school year, and proposed making digital images of the murals so they could be replicated later. Morrison wouldn’t consent to the replication of his work. On March 6, the school board approved the contract for construction of a new school and recommended only a Native American honoring of Wilson-Pacific prior to its demolition.

On May 15, an Idle No More rally was held at school district offices. At the school board meeting that followed, Urban Native Education Alliance chairwoman Sarah Sense-Wilson, Oglala Lakota, said the district has withdrawn resources and removed Native instructors from Indian Heritage School over the years, “rendering the program a shell of what was once a vibrant, successful, visible program.”

Sense-Wilson said merging Indian Heritage School with the middle college program at the mall would be an act of institutional racism and classism, “assimilating Native learners and further distancing them from their cultural identity, heritage and connection with the Native community, and ultimately a poignant loss of a distinct, unique Native-focused program, which at one time bridged culture, tradition, history, Native perspective and connection with the community.”

She asked that Indian Heritage School be moved to another campus. “We do know there is space at various schools,” she said.

Dr. Carol Simmons, a retired Seattle educator, alluded that destroying a Native school program and Native art on a historically indigenous site would be a continuation of the “historical devastation and destruction of Native culture and the mistreatment of Native students in our schools.”

She said, “These murals must be preserved with dignity and not disrespectfully digitized. This important school must be treasured and not demeaned by placing it in a shopping mall.”

Other speakers included former state Sen. Claudia Kauffman, Nez Perce, who also asked that a permanent home be found for Indian Heritage School. “This is more than just an educational institution. It’s [a place] for the community in which we gather together.”

Banda said he met the day before with concerned residents about Indian Heritage School. He said he will continue to meet with Native American families and a new coalition “to discuss the next steps” regarding the school. “We truly value our relationship with our Native American families and we look forward to working with our families and community members to more effectively support our Native students,” he said.

He referred to the murals as “artifacts” and said the district will work “to ensure we protect those artifacts.”

On May 22, Morrison and Banda had a conversation and made amends; their relationship had been strained by months of protests and press coverage. Morrison is creating a portrait of the late Bob Eaglestaff, principal of Indian Heritage school in the 1980s and ’90s, as a gift to the school district. He’s also offered to paint, at his own expense, mural portraits of Geronimo and Sitting Bull at the current Indian Heritage School campus.

“Chief Seattle, Chief Joseph, Chief Geronimo and Chief Sitting Bull will complete our four directions and this will solidify a commitment between the Seattle Public Schools, the Native American community, my family, and me,” Morrison said.

For more of the story, visit andrewmorrison.org.

Artist Andrew Morrison talks to Native Youth Conference participants about the murals he painted at American Indian Heritage Middle College High School. The conference was April 16-18 at the school. The walls with the murals may be incorporated into the new school that is proposed to be built at the site. Photos courtesy Andrew Morrison.

Courtesy Andrew Morrison.

An Idle No More rally was held May 15 at the Seattle School District offices. Photo by Andrew Morrison.

Photo by Andrew Morrison

Students hold signs calling for the Seattle School Board to move American Indian Heritage Middle College High School to another campus. Photo by Andrew Morrison.

Will Stelle on Treaty Rights at Risk and salmon recovery

treatyrightsatrisk.org

Will Stelle, the regional administrator of NOAA Fisheries, gives a thorough explanation on the federal perspective of salmon recovery and Treaty Rights at Risk. Stelle spoke during the 2013 Salmon Recovery Conference two weeks ago in Vacouver, WA.

Soap Lake Pow Wow, June 7-9

June 7, 8, & 9, 2013 East Beach Park, Soap Lake, Washington

Contact: www.soaplakepowwow.com or 509.855.5085

Native American Student Art Festival, April 25

Census Bureau reports American Indian and Alaska Native poverty rates

CB13-29

Contact: Melanie Deal
Public Information Office
301-763-3030

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 20, 2013 – The poverty rate for American Indians and Alaska Natives in Rapid City, S.D. (50.9 percent) was around three times the rate in Anchorage, Alaska (16.6 percent) and about 30 percent or greater in five other cities most populated by this group (Gallup, N.M.; Minneapolis; Rapid City, S.D.; Shiprock, N.M.; Tucson, Ariz.; and Zuni Pueblo, N.M.), according to American Community Survey data collected from 2007 to 2011 by the U.S. Census Bureau. See figure.

Nine states had poverty rates of about 30 percent or more for American Indians and Alaska Natives (Arizona, Maine, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota and Utah).

“With the American Community Survey, we can look at the poverty rates for even the smallest race and Hispanic-origin groups,” said Suzanne Macartney, an analyst in the Census Bureau’s Poverty Statistics Branch.

These figures come from Poverty Rates for Selected Detailed Race and Hispanic Groups by State and Place: 2007-2011, an American Community Survey brief that presents poverty rates by race and Hispanic origin for the United States, each state and the District of Columbia. For the nation and each state, poverty rates are summarized for the major race groups. For the nation, each state and selected places, poverty rates are summarized for American Indians and Alaska Natives, detailed Asian groups with populations of 750,000 or more, Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander groups with populations of 25,000 or more and Hispanic-origin groups with populations of 1 million or more.

Two race groups had poverty rates more than 10 percentage points higher than the national rate of 14.3 percent: American Indian and Alaska Native (27.0 percent) and black or African- American (25.8 percent). Rates were above the overall national average for Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders (17.6 percent), while poverty rates for people identified as white (11.6 percent) or Asian (11.7 percent) were lower than the overall poverty rate. Poverty rates for whites and Asians were not statistically different from each other. The Hispanic population had a poverty rate of 23.2 percent, about nine percentage points higher than the overall U.S. rate.

Other highlights:

According to the 2007-2011 American Community Survey, 42.7 million people in the United States, or 14.3 percent, had income below the poverty level.
For the Asian population, poverty rates were higher for Vietnamese (14.7 percent) and Koreans (15.0 percent) and lower for Filipinos (5.8 percent). Poverty rates for Vietnamese and Koreans were not statistically different from each other.
For Asians, nine states had poverty rates below 10 percent (Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maryland, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Virginia and South Carolina).
Among Hispanics, national poverty rates ranged from a low of 16.2 percent for Cubans to a high of 26.3 percent for Dominicans.

The American Community Survey provides a wide range of important statistics about people and housing for every community across the nation. The results are used by everyone from town and city planners to retailers and homebuilders. The survey is the only source of local estimates for most of the 40 topics it covers, such as education, occupation, language, ancestry and housing costs for even the smallest communities. Ever since Thomas Jefferson directed the first census in 1790, the census has collected detailed characteristics about our nation’s people. Questions about jobs and the economy were added 20 years later under James Madison, who said such information would allow Congress to “adapt the public measures to the particular circumstances of the community,” and over the decades allow America “an opportunity of marking the progress of the society.”

Source: U.S. Census Bureau

Native-Owned Security Firm Makes List of 100 Top Small Businesses in America

PSC President & CEO Michele Justice (http://pscprotectsyou.com/aboutmichele.html)

Vote To Nominate Personnel Security Consultants, Inc. for the Community Excellence Award

Indian Country Today Media Network Staff

Out of several thousand applicants for the Blue Ribbon Small Business Award, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has bestowed the honor on Native American-owned security firm Personnel Security Consultants, Inc. (PSC) as one of 100 winners representing the best small businesses in America.

The award recognizes small firms with fewer than 250 employees and gross revenues of less than $20 million for its customer service, community involvement, staff training and motivation, a press release states. The award, sponsored by Sam’s Club, also recognizes business strategies and goals. PSC was the only Blue Ribbon winner in New Mexico and one of two Native American small businesses selected in the U.S.

“It’s exciting to know that a small business started in my home is being recognized alongside bigger businesses with dozens of employees,” PSC President & CEO Michele Justice (Navajo) said in the release. “It’s recognition for the hard work, determination and sacrifice. It’s assurance that we’re doing the right thing even through all the struggles. And it’s a big dream that we’ve really worked to make a reality.”

An investigative firm specializing in personnel security and employment suitability with a staff of 18, PSC serves more than 280 tribes and tribal programs, in addition the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Los Alamos National Laboratory, temp screening services and casinos.

The firm, created in 2004, focuses on personnel security training, adjudications and tailored employee background investigations. PSC continues to be the only authorized liaison between the BIA and the FBI to aid tribes in obtaining employee fingerprints for a FBI criminal history record search to meet the requirements of the 1990 Indian Child Protection and Violence Protection.

Blue Ribbon winners will be honored at America’s Small Business Summit 2013 on April 29 – May 1 in Washington, D.C. On Friday, February 15, the U.S. Chamber will announce seven award finalists. One of the seven will be named the DREAM BIG Small Business of the Year during the summit. The winner will be presented with a copy0,000 cash prize courtesy of the U.S. Chamber.

“The Blue Ribbon Award winners show that, even facing uncertainty and economic challenges, small businesses can grow and succeed,” U.S. Chamber president and CEO Thomas J. Donohue said in the press release. “They are America’s economic engine, driving growth and job creation all across this country.”

Blue Ribbon awardees are also eligible for the Community Excellence Award, an online contest that allows people to support their favorite Blue Ribbon winner and celebrate the business’ commitment to their community. The Community Excellence Award winner will receive a free, two-night hotel stay during the business summit. Deadline to vote is 5 p.m. EST February 22. To vote for PSC, go to https://dreambigaward.wufoo.com/forms/community-excellence-award-2013/.