This Issue:

Table of Contents

Cover Story

Cover Story - Spanish Version

Mini-Lesson

Comprehension Quiz

Teacher's Guide and Worksheets

Their Native Tongue

Spanish Translation

By Kathryn Hoffman

The kids at the Akwesasne Freedom School in Rooseveltown, New York, start their day the same way lots of other kids around the U.S. do-chatting about the Powerpuff Girls, Britney Spears, the latest Nintendo games and sports. But when class begins, their day takes on a different sound.

The kids at the Freedom School are learning Kanien'kehá:ka (Gah-nyah-gay-ha-gah), the language of their Native American ancestors, the Mohawk Indians. The older students won't speak any English again until school lets out in the afternoon. Some children enter the school, for preschoolers through eighth-graders, unable to read or write a word of the language. By second grade, they not only read and write it, but they're also studying math, science and history in the ancient language. "I'm glad I'm learning it," says third-grader Karonhiakwé:kon (Gah-loon-hyah-gweh-go), whose friends call him Kwé:kon (Gweh-go). "It's fun, and our people are Mohawk. We should learn it."

A School For Native Americans
The Freedom School is on the U.S. side of the St. Regis Reservation, which also has land in Canada. There are about 300 U.S. reservations, land that has been set aside for Native Americans. Hundreds of years ago, they lost a lot of their land to European settlers and later gave up even more to the U.S. Reservations were created by the government beginning in the 1800s as a place for Native Americans to live.

In the 1970s, parents on the St. Regis Reservation became concerned that their children were not learning their native language and culture. Like many Native American languages, the Mohawk tongue was in danger of disappearing. Only 1 out of 5 Mohawks could speak it. There were no Mohawk classes for kids at the time, so in 1979 parents started the Freedom School.

Other Native Americans are making similar efforts to keep their languages alive. "Languages evolve over centuries, and there's a lot of history and culture built into them," says Doug Whalen, president of the Endangered Language Fund. "When we lose a language, our whole human heritage shrinks."

Keeping Their Culture Alive
Students at the Freedom School learn about Mohawk traditions and history as well as the language. Each morning they gather to recite the "Thanksgiving Address," which opens traditional ceremonies. "They give thanks to all the things that help them live," explains a parent.

The kids have Native names their clan mother gave them when they were born. A clan mother is a respected older woman. Her job is to name babies and help the clan's children learn and grow.

There are three clans in the Mohawk Nation: Turtle, Bear and Wolf. Children belong to their mother's clan, and their Native names come from that clan. The names are special: no two living people are supposed to have the same one.

"Mine means 'She Sways with the Grass,'" says fourth-grader Kahéntawaks (Gah-hon-dah-walks). "My little sister can't say it, so she says 'Wah-Walks.'"

"My name means 'The Whole Entire Sky,'" says Karonhiakwé:kon. "That's why it's so long."

"If someone called me by my English name-Alicia-I wouldn't answer," says third-grader Kahenténhawe (Gah-hon-dah-ha-weh).

Although their pride in their heritage is strong, these students can't neglect English. Seventh- and eighth-graders at the Freedom School study in English to get ready to attend high schools outside the reservation. The students' knowledge of Mohawk language and culture helps them appreciate what it means to be Native American. "What they're taught here, they'd never learn anywhere else," says their teacher, Iakotsi'tsiaká:ion (Yah-go-jee-jaw-gah-une). "They're taught to be proud of who they are."

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Did You Know?

• Historians estimate that there were between 12 million and 15 million Native Americans in what is now the U.S. and Canada before any European settlers arrived. Today there are between 2 million and 3 million.
• Only about 1 in 5 Native Americans lives on a reservation.
• There were 281 known Native American languages that originated in the U.S. and Canada. Almost half are extinct or nearly extinct.
• About one-third of the country's Native Americans live in poverty. California, Oklahoma, Arizona, New Mexico, Washington and Alaska have the largest Native American populations.

Speak Mohawk
Would you like to help save the Mohawk language? Here are some words to get you started.

• hello: shé:kon (say-go)
• hi: kwe kwe (gweh gweh)
• bye: ó:nen (oh-nah)
• mom: ista (ee-stah)
• dad: rákeni (la-geh-nee)
• friend: ó:ri (oh-lee)
• caterpillar: owhará:ne (oh-fa-la-neh)

Next: Chaos in the Troubled Congo