THE HEART & SOUL OF LANGUAGE WORK
Me’-lash-ne/Loren Bommelyn of the Tolowa Dee-ni Nation touches on internal challenges (e.g. internalized shame, intergenerational trauma) and external challenges (e.g. institutional, governmental) to language growth. He encourages you to keep the language fire stoked despite challenges created by “firewalls” ( suppression, oppression, exclusion). He touches on the value of language nests and multiple approaches to one’s language work as assets. He acknowledges the dark topics and soul wounds that accompany language work, but emphasizes the necessity of bringing dark things into the light so as to address and change them. Watch this to understand why and how to continue ahead with courage.
Week 1, Day 1 
Resources
Video
Additional Resources
Wikipedia page on Loren Bommelyn: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loren_Bommelyn
Videos:
– Bommelyn, L. [7GenFund]. (2013, April 5) The language lens at the Weaving Wellness in Native Communities Conference in Native Communities Conference 2011. URL: https://youtu.be/WC1eCMhftPQ
– Bommelyn, L., NiaNia, W. & Bush, Allister. [Two Feathers NAFS]. (2020, July 1). A Conversation on the intersection of Māori and Tolowa Healing. URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30_dYzlorNc
– [Global Oneness Project]. (2018, August 8). Language keepers Tolowa Dee-ni. URL https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbPItjM4pzw
Summary: “Loren Bommelyn is the sole fluent speaker of Tolowa Dee-ni’, a language of California’s Pacific coast. Faced with generations of trauma, he is teaching the language and traditions to his children and grandchildren.”
– [ISSI] (2018, December 17). “On Indian ground: California return to indigenous knowledge, generating hope, leadership, and sovereignty through education” URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snXZQ-3KF2Q
Summary: “Joely Proudfit and Nicole Myers-Lim, authors and editors of On Indian Ground: California discuss issues related to Native American education reform, addressing the impacts of genocide, colonization, racism and historical bias upon curriculum and student achievement. Additionally, they present holistic indigenous perspectives that can be integrated into systems of education to foster equity, success and social justice.”
Websites:
– Tolowa Dee-ni Nation website: https://www.tolowa-nsn.gov/
– California Language Archive: Tolowa: https://cla.berkeley.edu/languages/tolowa.html
Articles/readings:
– ‘Another Way to Reawaken the Language’: Word Game Wordle Adapted for Indigenous Languages,’ Vancouver Sun. Written by Roxanne Egan-Elliott, January 20th 2022. URL: https://www.google.com/search?q=indigenous+word+creation&rlz=1C5CHFA_enUS773US787&oq=indigenous+word+creation&aqs=chrome..69i57j33i160.2425j0j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
– Hall, R. L. (1992). Language and Cultural Affiliations of Natives Residing near the Mouth of the Coquille River before 1851. Journal of Anthropological Research, 48(2), 165–184. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3630409
– Navarro, J. (2022). Weaving Water: Toward an Indigenous Method of Self- and Community Care. In L. E. PÉREZ & A. M. LEIMER (Eds.), Consuelo Jimenez Underwood: Art, Weaving, Vision (pp. 198–218). Duke University Press. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv2nrz7kz.21
– Shannon Tushingham, & Richard Brooks. (2017). Inland Sanctuary: A Synergistic Study of Indigenous Persistence and Colonial Entanglements at Hiouchi (Xaa-yuu-chit). Oregon Historical Quarterly, 118(1), 108–139. https://doi.org/10.5403/oregonhistq.118.1.0108
Reflection questions from Me’-lash-ne/Loren Bommelyn:
– Are your language/languages Awake or Asleep?
– Does language hold your values?
– How does language instruct your life?
– How does language challenge Colonization?
– How can a lost language return?
– What kind of work do you do in your language community?
– How do Loren’s labels for types of work help you understand your own community’s work? (Who do you feel is most engaged right now? How could you reach out to less-engaged community members? What role can they play?)
– What about this presentation resonated for you?
– What is the difference between a language hunter and a language tourist, and how is that relevant to language revitalization?
– How do you feel about “creating new words” in your language and community? When is it useful and how, if ever?