by Last Words by Hopi High students and produced by Youth Radio
March 10, 2010 in Youthcast by Molly Adams
For Hopi teenagers, and for other people growing up in native cultures, not being able to speak your language is a painful sign and clear reminder of the history of your family’s oppression. In this piece from Youth Radio, students from Hopi Junior Senior High School and their parents in Keams Canyon, Arizona wonder how they might preserve this part of their culture.
Sunset over the Hopi reservation in Keams Canyon, Arizona | Photo credit: Brett Myers
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Rebecca Martin, a Youth Radio producer has this to add:
The story was produced with Hopi High School's radio class. While it was a collaborative production, Austin Coochyamptewa was the lead youth reporter.
Also appearing (in order) are: Alrye Polequaptewa, Leandra Calnimptewa, Paul Quamahongnewa, Annalese Nasafotie, Paul Quamahongnewa, Eloise Coochyamptewa, Leon Koruh, Rochelle Lomayaktewa, and DeAnn Honanie.
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Intro music: "Leyendecker" by Battles on the album Mirrored.
Outro music: "Oh No" by Andrew Bird on the album Noble Beast. Fun fact: Bird said that the intonation on the refrain was created by a crying, frightened child sitting behind him on a plane.
I loved this piece. It is incredible to me how language is such a powerful transmitter of culture and how that is exemplified in need on the Hopi Judgment Day to be able to speak Hopi in order to survive. It makes me wonder though-are there other ways to maintain a culture without language? Or does the lack of language always mean the dissolution of a specific culture?
Also, just on a personal note, I felt for the kids who may not have wanted to learn Hopi when they were younger. I hated going to religious school when I was young, didn't like having to be in another school after regular school, and wished it was something I didn't have to learn. Now that I'm older I wish I had stuck with it and learned more about my religion, which is Judaism. I still wonder if even though being Jewish is a part of my identity, does the fact that I know so little about the formal religion prevent me from fully laying claim to my identity?