Hau, bo zho mine,
After taking some time off to get other things arranged and organized, I am now back to share some thoughts with ya all. First off, our beautiful language…..kyet nam she nde zabendan ode zheshmowen egi mingoyak mno wi pi…….
Our language is what describes us, it is what describes our world, our universe, our ceremonial lives, our eco systems, and the many other things we take for granted in this world of ours. I never want to take our world for granted, I don’t want to take this life for granted, I will not take my language for granted, any more than the air I breathe, for it is the air I breathe, it is the food I eat, it is the family I love, it is the mate I love, it is everything I care about and live for, am ready to die for and certainly all that I love for. I cannot stress how important this language is to me……
Today we lost yet another beautiful elderly lady; Mary Wensaut. I wonder if anyone else will really miss her and the huge gaping hole she will leave among our Potawatomi speakers. We are so very few these days, some have said about 44 speakers left in the entire world, but I beg to differ with them…….we have about 15 speakers left that I count who really speak this Potawatomi language. There are 5 of us who are actively teaching this language and perhaps 5-6 more who are not fully fluent yet, but will be if they give themselves time to learn to speak fluently.
We have some Canadian speakers left but they speak Neshnabemwen, which is not pure Potawatomi and if we, who still speak this language don’t take drastic steps to teach and share this language, it will die out. The Neshnabemwen language will be the only thing left that remotely resembles the old Potawatomi language. I do not wish to minimize that sacred tongue they speak in Canada, Grandmother’s Land, but we must not allow our original language The Spirit gave us to die out.
With the passing of another elder, we come that much closer to losing our precious mother tongue, Bodewadmi. I have witnessed so many beautiful elders leave us in the years I have traversed this sacred altar called Mother Earth. There was a time when we spoke only Potawatomi in our home and there were other Native languages we spoke as well. Those days are past and it seems there are no new speakers coming up who are learning to speak these languages. We hear of classes here and there, on line classes we have made available, books for sale with CD’s and DVD’s, but there still are no new speakers coming up through the rank and file of Potawatomi people. Many people would rather not even take classes to learn their language, even when we make it so readily available for them on the internet and through many other outlets, such as Amazon.com, and offering language classes through tribal programs as well.
When will the people take pride in who they are as Potawatomi and learn their language so it doesn’t get lost? When will they sacrifice their time and spend it “burning the mid nite oil” so to speak, to learn this language? When will the people spend their substance to do all in their power to learn their language, thereby saving it for their use? When will language become their world?
Iw enajmoyan…….Nin se Neaseno.
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