Mendota Mdewakanton Dakota Community

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Science Conference Addresses Importance of Preservation

By Art Chimes, VoA News

 San Francisco, CA - February 28, 2007 - There are nearly 7,000 languages on Earth, but experts say about half of them are endangered, meaning only a small and declining number of often elderly people speak the language. Major world and national languages crowd out indigenous ones, and it’s estimated that more languages became extinct in the 20th century than at any other time in history.

For scientists, the loss of a language represents a very real loss of knowledge. And that knowledge could save lives at a time when drug companies search tropical forests for biologically-based medical breakthroughs, and many if not most plant and animal species remain unknown to Western science.

Professor David Harrison of Swarthmore College decries the loss of scientific knowledge when languages die

At last week’s meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, David Harrison of Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania said saving endangered languages could help scientists harness knowledge that might otherwise be lost.

“Vast domains of knowledge about meteorology, mathematics, weather cycles, plant and animal behavior, how to domesticate plants and animals, how to control genetic stocks exists,” Harrison stressed. “It is out there, it is fragile, it is very rapidly eroding.”

Revitalizing a dying language can help heal a community according to Daryl Baldwin, an expert on the Myaamia language and culture that once thrived in the American Midwest

When a language goes, so does culture. The Miami are a native people that once thrived in the American Midwest. Three centuries ago, their Myaamia language was widely spoken. But the language began to die out as the tribe was forced from its ancestral homeland and its members became more assimilated in mainstream America. It was essentially extinct by the 1960s. However, the language had been well documented, and Daryl Baldwin and his Myaamia Project have been working to revitalize both the language and the culture it represents. 

“For communities that have been socially disrupted, the language provides an avenue by which they can mend and heal,” said Baldwin, “because embodied in that language is a great deal of information about how we relate to each other and how we relate to our landscape. And so language revitalization has been incredibly enriching. It’s been daunting. Language loss is about social change; language reclamation is also about social change.”

Hawaiian culture thrives but the language is threatened says William Wilson of the University of Hawaii

Revitalizing an endangered language is never easy. In Hawaii, the U.S. state that was an independent monarchy until 1893, the culture is strong, but the language has faced severe challenges, such as a law that prohibited teaching it in schools until two decades ago. William Wilson of the University of Hawaii says it is important to expose young Hawaiians to the language, and the subject now is taught to school children. 

“So that’s increasing the numbers of speakers,” Wilson said. “In 1986, when we started, there were less than 50 children in all of Hawaii that could speak Hawaiian fluently. Now we have about 2,000 in our school system. More importantly, there are actually families that speak Hawaiian at home. And so we’ve started infant-toddler programs, where those children can come together before they go to preschool.”

Leanne Hinton of the University of California says 1:1 intensive programs are preserving native languages in her state

On the mainland, California has a tremendous heritage of language diversity, with as many as 100 native languages having been spoken there. Many are now endangered or gone entirely. Leanne Hinton of the University of California says one-on-one intensive programs are helping sustain threatened languages. 

“One of them is the master-apprentice language learning program, which pairs the last speakers of native languages with younger members of the tribe who want to learn it. And we teach them the fundamentals of language immersion, and they are supposed to spend 10 or 20 hours a week just living their lives together in the language and without recourse to English,” Hinton explained.

Despite efforts like these, indigenous and other minority languages will continue to be threatened, and many likely will die off. But aggressive programs can help ensure the survival of other languages, along with the knowledge and culture they embody.

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This report originally appeared on VoA News.

Race and Other Tricky Online Application Questions:

When Applying for Jobs Online, You Can Skip Certain Questions, Benefit from Others
By Perri Capell, CareerJournal.com

Question: When completing online job applications, I’m asked to provide my college graduation date and Social Security number. Does this give the HR department an opportunity to discriminate against me? Also, if I don’t answer the voluntary question about my ethnicity, will my application be excluded?

Answer: Good questions. With so many companies requiring job seekers to complete online employment applications, many other candidates probably wonder the same things.I’ll address the ethnicity question first. Federal law prohibits discriminating against job seekers because of race or gender, so being asked to volunteer such information in a job application may seem odd. However, companies ask the questions to collect data for the government showing they are attempting to interview and hire diverse candidates.If a company’s data-collection system is designed correctly, these details go into a database used to track sources of diversity and not to recruiters, says Mark Mehler, co-founder of CareerXroads, a Kendall Park, N.J., staffing-strategy consulting firm. Since recruiters aren’t supposed to receive this information, it shouldn’t affect your interview chances, he says.

“The recruiter doesn’t see it, so it can’t be used to discriminate,” Mr. Mehler says.

On the other hand, many recruiters still can detect race and gender from other information you may voluntarily provide. For example, the college you attended or organizations you have joined can be giveaways.

As for providing the year of your college graduation, it’s fine to omit this information if you believe it might be used to screen you out for age reasons. If you have the experience and skills the company is seeking, you’ll still be contacted despite not answering that question, says Patrick Dailey, director of human resources for TXU Energy, a unit of TXU Corp., in Dallas.

However, if it’s a question that you must answer be able to submit the application, don’t assume the company is biased against older candidates, Mr. Dailey says. Instead, view the question as a way for employers to find the best candidates, not to eliminate them.

“Recruiters use graduation dates more to determine the number of years of experience, not necessarily age,” says Mr. Dailey. “It’s to be discriminating, not discriminatory.”

Still, Mr. Mehler agrees that some older candidates should omit college graduation dates from online job applications. He also suggests that they include only their last several jobs on the electronic form. “Just list the last 20 years of your work experience,” he advises.

Your question about supplying a Social Security number concerns me most. Companies typically ask for the number so they can use it later to conduct background checks on serious contenders. But requesting Social Security numbers at the application stage is premature and threatens your privacy, says Mr. Mehler. I advise leaving the space blank if it isn’t mandatory. If you need to fill in the blank to submit the application, make up a number, Mr. Mehler suggests. Let the company know in a cover note that you supplied a false Social Security number due to concerns about your privacy and that you’ll gladly provide the correct number later in the process.

Since truthfulness is so critical in job applications, I questioned Mr. Mehler’s advice on this. He recently conducted a seminar for company human-resources and staffing professionals, and I asked him to poll attendees on the issue. He asked them if they objected to candidates supplying fictitious Social Security numbers on electronic job applications. No one he polled had a problem with it, Mr. Mehler said.

While some people find jobs by applying for them electronically, more often candidates are hired by talking with others and getting referrals. It’s possible that you’d find a new position more quickly by meeting people who will refer you for openings than by completing online applications.

Readings of Related Interest

• How a Resume Can Catch the Eye of Diversity-Minded Employers
  By Perri Capell, CareerJournal.com
  Is there a way to let an organization know that I can contribute to its diversity needs without appearing to ask for special treatment?

• Does Your “Name” Keep You From Getting Hired?
  By Jennifer Hicks
  Study shows that people with “white-sounding” names are 50 percent more likely to get a response to their resume than are those with “black-sounding” names

NCAI Empowers Native Youth through New Youth Ambassador Leadership Program

Release by the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI)

In an effort to expand youth leadership in  Indian Country, the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) has created the Youth Ambassador Leadership Program (YALP) to acknowledge the strong leadership capabilities and skills present within both Native youth.

“Native youth are collaborating in ways that will benefit all of us in the future and this program will only enhance the way in which they coordinate their efforts to improve the lives of their peers,” said NCAI President Joe Garcia.

The two Ambassadors (male and female) and two Under-Ambassadors (male and female) will serve as spokespersons for the NCAI Youth Commission to raise public awareness about the many important issues impacting American Indians and Alaska Native youth throughout Indian County.

The competition to become YALP Ambassadors included an oration, contemporary dress, extemporaneous question, cultural presentation and debate. Contestants were also judged recommendations and grade point average. The top male and female candidates each receive an academic scholarship for $2,500.

Ambassadors:

Patricia Carter, Nez Perce Tribe, Sophomore at Northwest Indian College studying Native American Studies

“The implementation of this new program is exciting. Our strength is our diversity within the leadership program. We all have various ideas and have the drive and passion to implement new initiatives such as creating a multimedia campaign to fight drug and alcohol abuse and push for stronger possession laws. We can educate other youth about NCAI and Indian Country Initiatives.

Quintin Lopez, Tohono O’odham Nation, senior at Hasan Preparatory and Leadership School

“For the next two years as a representative, I will express my true feelings and those of the youth. They should be heard. I will do more with Native youth and have them be more outspoken about who they are and where they come from.”

Under-Ambassadors:

Marrisa Corpuz, Tlingit-Haida, freshman at the University of Alaska Southeast

“This is a wonderful opportunity for me to reach out to youth on a national level and a personal level. I am very excited to see the issues that we will be dealing with and to assist in creating solutions. I know that I am working with three wonderful Native youth and with the mergence all of our individual strengths we will make a difference and impact on Indian Nations. I can’t wait to get out and hear the voices of the Indian youth of America. I can assure you that we will represent Indian Youth across the nation to the best of our capabilities.”

Nick Stranger, Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, Senior at Lake Roosevelt High School

“I look forward to this opportunity to learn more about politics and the political process in Indian Country. I’ve always been active in sports so this is something new that I can do. I’m Interested  to learn more about Native issues.”

For more information about YALP, contact Jennifer Rackliff at 202-466-7767.

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Founded in 1944, the National Congress of American Indians is the oldest, largest and most representative American Indian and Alaska Native organization in the country.  NCAI advocates on behalf of more than 250 tribal governments, promoting strong tribal-federal government-to-government policies, and promoting a better understanding among the general public regarding American Indian and Alaska Native governments, people and rights. Learn more at http://www.ncai.org.

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NATIVE AMERICAN HISTORY & CULTURE

Thsi page has Native American timelimes, documents, treaties, etc.

It also has information that is important and impacting to Native Americans.

It contains many good links to other Native American themed websites, including Native American art, history and  poetry

check it out here: http://www.teacheroz.com/Native_Americans.htm