Saving a Tribal Language

Cultural knowledge may disappear with dwindling native populations.
When languages disappear, so do oral histories and cultural knowledge. As minority indigenous cultures face rapidly dwindling populations, the future of their heritage grows dark.

In America’s northern Plains, the Assiniboine tribe has shrunk to just 50 living members in Montana who are fluent in its language, Nakota. The Assiniboine separated from the Sioux some 400 years ago, developing their own linguistic and cultural forms, according to Raymond DeMallie, an Indiana University anthropology professor.
DeMallie is leading a project to preserve the oral history of the tribe, with plans to publish a dictionary of the language and two volumes transcribing oral histories that were recorded nearly 25 years ago.

The Assiniboine tribe had long been neglected by linguists and anthropologists because they were believed to have been closely related to the Sioux; they were also incorrectly identified with the Stoneys of Canada, according to DeMallie. This mistaken identity led to neglect by scholars pursuing the larger and better known indigenous cultures.

Armed with new digital audio technologies that can visually represent sounds for precise analysis, DeMallie and his team will be able to replay difficult passages of the recorded material, consult with other experts, and render more accurate translations.

The Assiniboine traveled farther north than did the Sioux, and the culture was greatly influenced through intermarriage with the Cree tribe and with French and Canadian fur traders, DeMallie explains. The oral culture is rich with stories incorporating European folktales.

But of particular importance to cultural anthropologists is the effect of one of the tribe’s key distinctions: It survived as hunters without benefit of horses. Unlike other Plains tribes, the Assiniboine relied on pre-horse hunting techniques, such as communal buffalo drives. Knowledge about their unique survival strategies could thus be preserved in the oral histories and stories collected.
Source: Indiana University, www.indiana.edu.