Custer Died for Your Sins (May I request some advice? I’ve been offered the chance to learn an indigenous language, and I’d really like to, but I’ve been told by some people (not the people offering to teach me) that it’s extremely appropriative for a white person to become fluent in indigenous languages, regardless of their background. My great-grandmother attended a residential school with the grandparents of the people offering to teach me (I do get that this does not make me one of their tribe). Thoughts?)

Anonymous asked: May I request some advice? I've been offered the chance to learn an indigenous language, and I'd really like to, but I've been told by some people (not the people offering to teach me) that it's extremely appropriative for a white person to become fluent in indigenous languages, regardless of their background. My great-grandmother attended a residential school with the grandparents of the people offering to teach me (I do get that this does not make me one of their tribe). Thoughts?

If you’re interested in learning and are going to be taught by someone who is a native speaker of that language, there’s nothing to worry about. Go for it.

Where I think a lot of the stress some Native people have with learning their languages is that people might treat it as a parlor trick or something. There’s also the pain that comes from seeing descendents of the same people who abused and killed our family for speaking our languages now wanting to learn them. [Similar to how some white people want to be all about Native religion (singular, because they think there’s only one), but don’t realize that we are protective over these things because of our history of being denied the right to practice our own religions, and the fact that some things are just fucking private.]

And then some people just don’t want others learning their language.

Personally, I want to the languages of my tribes to be spoken widely, but I want it to be in our own communities. I don’t really know if I want even all the people who live in the area we’re from knowing it. But at the same time, some of the people who have been very important in preserving my tribe’s language (through dictionaries, recording some elders’ voices, etc.) have been non-Native. So, I don’t know that it would be that horrible for a couple non-Natives to speak it as well.

Whatever your decision, be respectful. I don’t think that should be a challenge for you, because you sound like you’re trying in this message. (That’s not a pass to be a douche though.)

@3 months ago with 6 notes