Maidu: The people who want their language to disappear

Cross posted from Anthropology group.

BBC News Magazine
The people who want their language to disappear
By Caroline Davies
California
Nov 1, 2014

(excerpt)

...Some of these schools operated into the mid-20th Century. In 1956, under the Indian Relocation Act, Native Americans were shipped from their reserves to the cities. The programme promised financial security, but often delivered urban poverty and many ended up in slums. Given this history, trust in authority is low and there is little doubt that the Maidu are fearful of opening up again...

..."There is a different way of thinking in the Maidu tradition," she explains.

"We believe the way you reach richness in life is through knowledge. It gives you power and it is your responsibility to use that wisely. If you pass that knowledge on, you are responsible for the outcome. If someone misuses the knowledge you give them, if they use it to hurt someone, you as the person who gave it to them, are responsible for that hurt."

Language is a potent force - more than the words alone, it can communicate a community's mindset, attitudes and priorities....

MORE at http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-29804445