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Hilaria Supa Huamán – Lakota Education

Biographical Timeline | Leadership Qualities | Lakota Education | References

Background

Children Dancing in the street
Lakota children dancing in the street

Most Americans agree that obtaining a post-secondary education is essential to a brighter future. However, the Eurocentric education system of the United States has failed Native students and is not suited for their success. An important factor behind Native students not excelling in the education system is the terror and shame inflicted on Indigenous peoples, because the schooling for Native children is used as a weapon to further coerce assimilation. 

One tribe in particular, the Lakota, on the Sioux reservations of the Oglala and Pine Ridge, the effects of colonization and intergenerational trauma are still prevalent today. Contributing to the high rates of incarceration, suicide and use of drugs and alcohol. Sadly, the life expectancy of Lakota men is only 48 years old. Though most of these issues are in response to the Relocation Acts the US government forced upon previous generations, where Natives were encouraged to leave their reservations and create lives in bigger cities. However, the Relocation Act possessed an unrealistic optimism and didn’t address issues like racial discrimination or segregation. This act destroyed and disrupted Native Culture, eventually leaving Natives homeless and struggling. The Relocation Act of 1956 is a major contributor to the high number of Native Americans living off the reservations.

Showing the entrance of the reservation
Signage marks the entrance of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation south of Scenic, South Dakota. (Photo by Kristina Barker)

On average, according to the Bureau of Indian Education, 90 percent of Native students attend public schools off the reservation. In these public schools, white students are twice as likely to succeed than Native students. When students lack the basic resources offered to every other community, it hinders the progress that they are able to make. When it comes to graduation, only 70 percent of the students graduate. A large number of Native students are left feeling invisible and their dream of going to college is not in the near future. Action is needed for the Lakota, because half of their population is under the age of 25 and the overall mental health of the students is declining.

Resilience

Despite these statistics, there are Lakota students who show their resilience by continuing their education. Some have been accepted into prestigious colleges like Yale University, for example. Along with the increasing numbers of teens attending college, a school called “Red Cloud Indian School” offers students an alternative option for school, focusing on the Lakota culture, teachings, and language. At Red Cloud High school, the students are required to take 4 years of Lakota language. Also, the National Indian Education Association has been able to create a plan with state education to consult with tribes on the needs of tribal students. Aside from the state education, within the public schooling, schools have been implementing and evaluating Native language immersion. NIEA has also offered schools for additional funding for drop-out prevention, and mental health services. The Lakota community approves of the immersion of culture into the schools because it offers economic and social contributions.

Lakota Language Student
Lakota student learning Siouan.

Hilaria’s Position

Hilaria Supa Huamán, a Quechua Peruvian activist and politician, is recognized for her part in the fight for the rights of Indigenous peoples. Being an Indigenous person, practicing her traditional ways and speaking her Native language of Quechua, she understands the importance of one’s culture. One of Hilaria’s core issues is the fight for Indigenous and peasant education rights.

Education
Supa, as President of the Education Commission, visiting a school in Chincha Alta (Flickr/Congreso de la República del Perú)

Hilaria would agree that the United States school system is suited for white students to succeed, while the lack of resources for Native students keeps these communities in a vulnerable position. Vulnerability is enshrined in Cherokee Nation v. Georgia where Chief Justice John Marshall deemed Indians not as foreign nations, as previously stated in the Constitution’s Commerce Clause, but instead as “domestic dependent nations.” This kept the tribal nations dependent on the federal government. Forms of dependency are displayed in the education structure today, like the allocation of fewer funds to low socio-economic schools creating a need for more federal funding. It appears that the federal government’s intent was to create reliance by Natives, in a ward-guardian relationship, in order to maintain control over Indigenous peoples. 

It appears that Hilaria would lobby for more federal funding for public schooling in the lower socio-economic Indigenous communities in order to create a more equal learning experience. For the Lakota in particular, Hilaria would emphasize the importance of integrating the traditional Lakota culture for the students and allocate funds for culturally relevant activities like after school programs but also culture programs during regular school hours. When it comes to the organization of the social structure in schools, I feel that she would assist the schools in creating models of education for the students which were not based off of the colonial mindset but rather change the focus toward a more matriarchal societal structure. She might begin an outreach program for Native girls, much like her organization FEMCA, to inform the girls about their heritage, to encourage them to learn and practice their ceremonies, and to help them understand that they are the bearers of culture. As President of the Education Commission, she worked tirelessly for the education rights of the Quechua, and she would most likely do the same for the Lakota.

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Tame Wairere Iti – Tibetan Language Erasure

Biographical Timeline | Leadership Qualities | Tibetan Language Erasure | References

A key feature of cultures word-wide is their ability to relay information and intergenerational knowledge through a shared common language. Not only then is the language a core identity of a culture, but it becomes attached to all elements of a people as their vocabulary shapes the way that they interact with the surrounding world and others. In models of colonialism, language is often the first and most noticeable distinction between peoples, which is why it is often the first portion of a culture that is directly targeted. Language activism is a centuries-long tradition by Indigenous peoples, tied to protecting their identities, and is still present across hundreds of international movements.  

A street sign in Tibet showing how small the Tibetan language is.
A street sign in Tibet showing how small the Tibetan language is compared to the Chinese.

Language erasure is not only an institution of colonialism centered around dehumanizing a culture, it is additionally a deeply political process that is centered around the control of power. Following the occupation of Tibet by the Communist Chinese government in 1950, multiple policies and orders across the newly conquered state were enacted that actively discouraged the use of the Tibetan language. These laws were often indirect and subtly worded however their intended effect was wide-spread and difficult to reverse. The Chinese government used a diverse array of methods to limit the use of Tibetan, including exchanging Tibetan school books for ones provided by the government written in Chinese, changing all street signs and official documents to be only written in Chinese, prohibiting Tibetan from being used in official proceeding, and spreading a propaganda campaign that called Chinese the language of the future. It was not until the 1990’s that Tibetan activists became outspoken on the issue of language activism as it became apparent that the generation raised after Chinese occupation was more comfortable speaking Chinese than their own native language. However, as Tibetan awareness grew, the Chinese government began actively jailing and oppressing activists that sought to mobilize the populous. Even in the 21st Century little change has been realistically achieved by Tibetan demonstrations and several key leaders of the movement are currently imprisoned in China for actions taken against the authoritarian regime. 

A graph showing how Chinese is used in Tibetan media more than native languages.

Tame Wairere Iti has experienced restrictions of his own language and been involved in language activism since he was in primary school. Iti believed that the language was a part of being Maori and didn’t understand how a person could be one without the other. The principal of his school declared that no one was allowed to speak Maori and were to only use English. Tame and his close friends chose to stand up to his principal and continued to speak Maori in school for weeks even though he was punished for standing up for his culture. From a young age, Tame has clearly understood the connection between both culture and identity with language and the importance of keeping native languages alive. For these reasons, Tame Iti would side with the Indigenous peoples of Tibet and help them attain the freedom to speak whatever language through the implementation of his unique and effective activism strategies.

Tame Wairere Iti has consistently been involved in activism for the Maori language since his youth and would undoubtedly have a strong opinion on language politics. Tame Iti sees language as an extension of self that deserves to be protected and celebrated like any other aspect of one’s culture. Although Tame Iti carries a positive view of China and Communism, as he had previously traveled there during the 1973 Cultural Revolution, he is outspoken on the topic of equal and accessible Indigenous rights to speaking a native tongue. Tame Iti would likely respond to this event by encouraging people to speak and use Tibetan whenever they could in their daily lives, as well as help to set up large scale protests. Although New Zealand’s relationship with the Indigenous Maori has been historically very different from China with Tibet, there are enough similarities that Tame Iti would likely continue to advocate in a similar manner. Tame Iti has additionally shown that he is not opposed to using force to effectively execute his plans, and thereby deliver a strong and cohesive message. However, as of now, Tame Iti has primarily retreated from the public sphere, due to his multiple arrests in the early 2000s, and is now focusing more on activism through art. It is important to note that Tame Iti would likely not want to get heavily invested in this struggle as he has repeatedly stated that while he supports other Indigenous groups, he believes that, when they can, they need to find their own path to recognition. It is for all of these reasons that Tame Iti would both fully support and recognize the Indigenous Tibetan’s continuous struggle for language recognition.

Not only is the study of the relationship between identity, language, and culture deeply personal for many individuals, it requires a reexamination of ideas of progress and prosperity. Both Tibetan and Maori activists grapple with countries that see their languages as obsolete, and with being the minority population in a land that once solely belonged to them. Tame Iti has advocated since his youth for both language recognition and Pan-Indigenous unity which is why he would undoubtedly support Tibetan resistance against Chinese policies.

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Tame Wairere Iti – Biographical Timeline

Biographical Timeline | Leadership Qualities | Tibetan Language Erasure | References

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Jeanette Armstrong – Renaming Mt. Rainier

Biographical Timeline | Leadership Qualities | Renaming Mt. Rainier | References

Ti'Swaq, also called Mt. Rainier, surrounded by trees and green grass.
Ti’Swaq’

One of Washington’s most well-known landmarks is Mt. Rainier, named after Peter Rainier, a friend of the colonizer George Vancouver. In fact, the volcano is so loved that the University of Washington designed portions of its campus, the Rainier Vista, to ensure the perfect view of it.

Long before Vancouver ever laid eyes on Mt. Rainier, multiple Pacific Northwest Indigenous tribes gathered at, explored and built a relationship with the volcano. This relationship dates back to at least 5,000 BCE; while only a minuscule portion of Mt. Rainier’s area has been covered by archeologists, over 75 prehistoric sites and items have been discovered. While no singular tribe necessarily lived on the volcano, there is a multitude of tribes that visited and cherished Mt. Rainier–originally known as a variety of names, including Tahoma, Tacoma, Pooskaus, Tacobeh, or Ti’Swaq’. Puyallup activist Robert Satiacum has been fighting to get Mt. Rainier renamed to this last name, Ti’Swaq’, which translates into “the sky wiper,” or “it touches the sky.” The multitude of names reflects the multitude of languages, people, and culture that blossomed around Ti’Swaq’. “Mt. Rainier” erases the presence of the local Indigenous People and the history that they share with the volcano, and instead dishonors Ti’Swaq’ by naming it after a colonizing figure that never saw it. This incorrect name promotes a colonizing agenda that has worked for centuries to destroy Indigenous culture, heritage, and belonging to the land.

In the Syilx Nation, traditional land and water connections are embedded in their identities and local dialects. Members are raised to value the collaboration of individuals in skilled work, along with the consistent presence and respect that the Earth holds while completing their duties. As such, naming practices of landmarks are vital to Cpcaptikwlh (story-telling) because these titles encompass all of the historical, geographical, science, and cultural knowledge of the Syilx Nation. Through this, Jeanette Armstrong’s model of eco-literacy, the healthy relationship between Indigenous people and the community, land, and water, is restored. Likewise, reestablishing traditional names rejects economic colonial practices of land-ownership and exploitation. Therefore, by reestablishing Mt. Rainier to its true name, Ti’Swaq’, Armstrong’s teachings suggest that the abuses of power and miscommunication from colonizers would be reduced. This would restore Indigenous land memories, local dialects, and traditional land and water use. 

In the Syilx (Nsyilxcən) language, all words and phrases have been shaped by the traditional land and water connections. Tmxʷulaxʷ (land), is a symbolic term that provides a framework to interpret the oral traditions, education, and traditional frameworks and values that govern them. Thus, also serving as the foundation for Jeanette Armstrong’s core beliefs and teachings. Similarly to the Puyallup people’s commitment to restoring Mt. Rainier to Ti’Swaq’, the Syilx Nation demanded unceded landmarks to include their traditional Indigenous names alongside their English titles. 

Naramata, currently home to numerous Canadian vineyards, was originally known as citxʷs paqəlqyn or “House of the Bald Eagle”. In 2018, the Naramata Park Naming Project, after commissioning a public poll, modified all city landmark signs to include its true name, citxʷs paqəlqyn. This momentous achievement serves as a permanent acknowledgment of the colonial assimilation practices used against Indigenous peoples and their land and waterways. Moreover, with the inclusion of the Syilx (Nsyilxcən) title, Syilx people are able to reform land-based connections and begin the reconciliation process of regaining their lost language.

Another significant achievement for the Syilx Nation was permanently erecting their nation’s flag at the University of British Columbia Okanagan in September 2018. Flown alongside the Canadian flag, British Columbia flag, and the UBC flag, the Syilx Nation flag represents the University’s acknowledgment of their position on unceded traditional land and waterways.  This event took place in 2018, while students, faculty members, and Syilx members witnessed. Jeanette Armstrong, as both a Syilx Member and professor at the University of British Columbia Okanagan, spoke from a unique perspective about combining western education with traditional teachings of the land and Syilx culture. With four of her students, they raised the flag and sung “We Are Beautiful”. Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, the Okanagan Nation Alliance Chairman, regarded this event as recognition of their distinct position as students and staff at the university. Presidents of the UBC was proud of having more diversity on the campus by creating tribal nation flags. Also, by having a stronger Syilx presence on campus, students who are unfamiliar with Indigenous Studies will be able to learn about colonialism and their ongoing effects through Syilx teachers, such as Armstrong. Moving forward, there will be more classes and projects about the Syilx culture offered in the Indigenous Studies program. This relates to the renaming of Mt. Rainier because the Okanagan gained recognition and partnership from the University of British Columbia.

The assimilation practices in Canada and the United States of America sought to eliminate the Indigenous peoples’ identity, by claiming ownership of the traditional lands and waters that held their languages, cultures, and traditional frameworks and values. The reclaiming of Naramata and UBCO serve as examples that reinstating traditional place-making would allow for the revitalization of Indigenous cultures. Therefore, through the understanding of Jeanette Armstrong’s eco-literacy philosophy, Mt. Rainier should be renamed to Ti’Swaq’ to properly honor the Pacific Northwest Indigenous peoples and begin the healing process.

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Jeanette Armstrong – Leadership Qualities

Biographical Timeline| Leadership Qualities | Renaming Mt. Rainier | References

Venerable

One way to determine whether or not someone is a leader is by looking at how their community views them. In Jeannette Armstrong’s case, it is clear to see that her community considers her to be venerable; someone who is greatly respected due to her wisdom and strong character. Over the years, Armstrong has spent her time working with not only in the Okanagan community, but working internationally with other Indigenous peoples to raise them up and find solutions to their problems. This can be seen through a multitude of ways: her first novel, Slash, came about due to a request for curriculum in schools that would educate students on contemporary issues that Indigenous people face. She was appointed as a judge for the First Nations Court of International Justice, in order to give a decision on whether or not the Government of Canada had violated laws against Indigenous peoples. Additionally, while she serves as the Executive Director for the En’owkin Center in Canada, she is also a consultant for the Center of Ecoliteracy in California, where she has shared the Okanagan philosophy of En’owkin. These examples, along with her many awards, recognize Armstrong for being someone that many people turn to when they struggle with questions. Armstrong is recognized not only amongst her community, but across nations and continents for being fair, trustworthy, and wise.

Preserver

Armstrong at a University of British Columbia graduation

The Syilx oral language, known locally as nsyilxcən, is the traditional language of the Indigenous Syilx/Okanagan Peoples. Due to the decades of assimilation practices, Nsyilxcən is considered an endangered language. The En’owkin Centre, a Syilx education institution, is dedicated to implementing Indigenous knowledge and systems, by providing access to Nsyilxcən learners of all ages and skill-levels. Jeanette Armstrong, the Executive Director, is committed to rejuvenating the traditional understandings of the Syilx histories, cultural frameworks and values, and skill-based knowledge stored within the oral traditions of Nsyilxcən. For the youngest students, bilingual children’s books–such as Armstrong’s “How Food Was Given/How Names Were Given”– reintroduces the traditional oral narratives of Indigenous people’s connection to the land and water of their homelands. For older students, they continue to reestablish their ties to the Nsyilxcən language and the Syilx traditional land and waterway ties. For these students, the En’owkin Centre also functions as a hub, where Syilx members can access academic planning for public post-secondary schooling, financial planning, and a cultural awareness program that facilitates connections to larger Indigenous movements. In a 2009 interview between Armstrong and the Center for Ecoliteracy, she underlines the importance of En’owkin, which in Nsyilxcən translates to a foundation for sustainable living. Thus, Armstrong’s core ambition for the En’owkin Centre is to reestablish community and traditional sustainability practices through education. By sharing her insight and knowledge, which have been passed down generationally to her, Armstrong hopes to reject the effects of colonialism in the Okanagan communities and to restore the once perfect unison between the Syilx people, the land, and the water.

Community-based

Armstrong for the Columbia River Treaty

Jeannette Armstong has created community organizations and programs for Okanagan people to improve their traditional language or cultural knowledge. Because of this, Okanagan/Syilx people have a stronger ability to connect to their history and fight for their rights. Born into the Penticton Indian Band of the Syilx Nation, Armstrong has fought for legal justice for her people and the Canadian government. In her novels, such as Slash or Whispering Shadow, Armstrong brings assimilation and Indigenous culture  to the mainstream community. Despite the challenges of the federal court and government, she continued to fight for the preservation of her culture and community. While she taught at the University of British Columbia Okanagan (UBCO), she used her knowledge to teach Sylix reading and writing courses, and the legal framework for Okanagan people to regain their rights. She also established the En’owkin Writing Centre for Okanagan people to refind their traditional language. Armstrong encouraged the combination of Syilx and English teachings to remember their culture. She has been participating in the Okanagan Nation Alliance since its founding as a council member. For example, she worked with Okanagan Nation members to discuss the water and food shortage in 2010. Sustainability continues to be their main issue of discussion.