http://www.youtube.com/user/Sevenplanes#p/a/f/1/sEJfS1v-fU0

That is funny!

I agree that the people here should learn to speak the dominant language, American English, I think we must remember that the USA is a land of mixed cultures. Whenever I hear people complaining about others who cannot speak the language of the land, I typically agree. I say “Your right, everyone should learn to speak the native tongue. We should all learn Cherokee!” They usually stop talking.

In all seriousness, learning a second or third language has been proven to make you smarter. I think our country should become bi-lingual, like most other countries. English and either Spanish or Chinese.

Why? Because I already know some Spanish, and I love listening to Mandarin Chinese!

I really do wish the people where I live would learn to speak English, especially my wife! It took me three months after I moved from New York to Alabama to be able to understand anybody. I still don’t know what many of the words they use are.

After eight years, I am still learning to speak Southern. There are a few dialects that I can not even understand a single word the person says!

I wish I could speak british

well the dominant language in this country is english, and anywhere else you'd need to learn the local language to be a part of that society. Some even require you to show several years of prosperity prior to immigration. Australia is like that. Any way learn the language so you can work with the rest of us, and not force yourself to be apart.

If this is the free country we claim it to be, then whoever lives here is free to speak whatever language that makes them comfortable.

There were hundreds of different Native languages amongst the tribes here. The Native Americans developed a trade language down south called 'Mobilian' which was used only for commerce between tribes from both Americas.

And it seems everyone forgets that all people have different learning abilities. The English language is not one of the easiest to learn. And when a person comes to a certain age, the brain is not as absorbent as it once was. Someday, you all may have the opportunity to have another foreign language pressed upon you, maybe Chinese, maybe Arabic, maybe Russian. Let's see how y'all fare when America is no longer free! Every great empire and nation have fallen as the result of arrogance, pride, and ego.

Live and let live! It doesn't bother me what language a person speaks. There are more superior ways to communicate than with the tongue, the worst weapon of all.....God's Peace....To`na Wanagi

The USA is an uncanny place. The way our government is set up allows us the incredible ability to, as a nation, say one thing and do another. The show South Park, episode 701 I’m a little bit country, explains how that works, when Cartman travels back to 1776.

http://www.southparkstudios.com/guide/701/

As far as being a free country, we are a people with freedom of choice. We do not always get to choose our options, we just get to pick which one we want. We are not free to do as we will. We have laws, many of them stupid, enforced to varying degrees, often to protect those who are not endowed with common sense.

The USA was founded on a double standard. The English came here to escape oppression, only to oppress the native populations. We say justice, fraternity, liberty and equality for all, yet our actions have never supported this. Our laws governing who could vote, own land and have other rites have changed over the years. It is getting better, but there are still vast legal inequalities, some of which help minorities, others which hinder them.

Enforcing equality destroys liberty. Enforcing total equality would oppress those who can do more.

Total liberty leads to domination by the most successful.

Fraternity, unity of our people is practically impossible because of the size of our populations.

Everyone has a chance, but not everyone has the same chance here.

I think that we need to improve the opportunities we provide our youth, and making the USA bi-lingual would do just that. After all, a good bit of this great land was owned by the Spanish at one point.

I am not anti-American , this is my first choice of places to live, Iceland being my second. However, I truly believe we can do better.

In England, I learned English,

In Deutschland Ich Deutsch habt gespract,

Et Belgium je parli francia's, et dutch.

mia Espaniol est terible alas en Mexico, I only talked English to my wife.

I expect the same courtesy from those that wish to emigrate to my country.

Oh wait there is only one group that tends towards expecting us to learn theirs when they move here.

The Vietnamese, the Russians, the Chinese, the Lao, Koreans, the french, the dutch, even the pacific islanders, all have chosen to learn English because that is what we speak here.

I have no problems with them maintaining their own language with each other nor do I harbor ill will about their culture being important to them and I like real Mexican food better than the plastic stuff sold out of the boxed and franchised restaurant. The issue is that it is a royal pain to travel in my country and have to learn new languages just to go shopping.

I make an exception for when I go on the reservation and I attempt to be polite because I do not know the native languages and have not been able to have someone teach me. I know that though some are willing to teach others are resentful that I should ask to learn and because I have been on the res only a few times mostly for trade I have not made the effort to find someone willing to teach. If I were to be offered to let live on the res (my elder brother has been; but he and I aren't talking (and he knows only English)) I would make much more effort to learn. I also do not expect them to talk to me in strictly English since even though I am sure they know English (most use only English even on the res here) I am the visitor to their nation when on the reservation.



REFUSING TO LEARN THE LANGUAGE OF THE HOST NATION IS RUDENESS in an extreme.

Most developing nations, worldwide, encourage their children, and teach them in their schools, to speak English. Why? Is it because they want their children to understand the lies that are being perpetrated against their people by the westernized world? That would be why I would want my children to understand English, to protect them. And during the conflicts in SE Asia, Laos, Cambodia, VietNam, Thailand when the refugees were sent to various parts of the world, many who came to America, it took a generation for them to learn to speak useful English. The elders of their people had little chance to understand how our society worked and were initially on the welfare rolls. This was necessary to give them a chance for their children to be taught English in American schools.

And when Native Americans speak their traditional language and don't wish to teach it to others they have the same reason. They know the system in place will simply exploit their Native tongues and develop a way to corrupt the language by teaching a pseudo-dialect that supposedly represents the various tribal dialects and tongues. here is currently a movement underway, sponsored by the US government, encouraging tribes to develop a single language on the premise that it would be beneficial to all tribes. Hmmmm...Sounds like another attempt to destroy our people's culture and traditions. I don't want to lose the languages of our people and I don't want other people from other cultures to lose their native languages either.

There is a very concerted effort currentlyunderway by the world governments that is heading toward a one-world government. What I have described above is just one example of how this will be acheived. Looking at it from a Biblical view and the story of the tower of Babel, if one has eyes to see and ears to hear, one could also understand why God chose to scramble the world's languages. In the time of Babel, their goal was to acheive an equal status with God. In modern times, mankind is attempting to do the same thing again. Sometimes, the things we keep secret are hidden away for good reason. We don't want to be exploited again or allow these demi-gogues to dominate the world. They are liars and a product of the lie. And they are supported by the one who has many names and are his children.

If you are a watchman you will not fall asleep to the signs of the times.....God's Justice for all.....To`na Wanagi

My experience with refuges that came to this country is quite different. They all have learned English rather quickly which is to say that they chose to do so and worked hard to make it happen. Yes it took a few years for the older generation to be fluent and confident but they encouraged their children to learn the language not from fear but from wanting them to be able to succeed in a new country that was supposed to be free from the oppression they escaped. The benefit of this is that I enjoy Lao, Vietnamese, Tai, Czech, Ukrainian and Russian food and cultural celebrations with those that were friends of our family. Funny thing is that one of my favorite foods now was one of those that bewildered me as a child; anyone ever hear of sticky rice?

By the way, I find the idea that a language can define a culture. I think that a culture will transcend language if it is truly a culture its members wish to keep. This is most true of the native people because their culture has survived the near complete annihilation of not only its people but its languages as well. Teach your heritage to those around you and it will survive long after you.

Language has been one of the most revered possessions of all cultures. It served to identify which tribe or people one came from. It was a source of pride and eloquence, not in an egotistical way. And you are wrong about our languages and heritage surviving. In fact, there are very few tribes that still have an accurate history of their own people. Since we passed our history down through the oral tradition there are no documents available except those writings by accounts of Europeans and Spaniards which were frequently skewed with prejudice. The languages that have survived are only fragments of the entire vocabulary and even pronunciation is of questionable origin. Only the oldest elders of a tribe are able to effectively communicate in their traditional dialect. Even those near 100 don't have their entire languges available to them.

As to sharing or teaching our heritage to others? Hah! We did that starting 500 years ago and up to our present day. You have no idea of the true results. It has taken me 50 + years to accumulate the information I have diligently sought. There was a conscious, concerted effort by the governmental powers of this country to expunge and bury the true events of early histoy. There was no desire to preserve the heritage or traditions of Native Americans. It is simple enough to discover the true policies and spirit of the US government concerning American Indians. Some of the most heinous events were actually recorded as virtuous victories because it was during a patriarchal time in history when the primitive brains of invaders took great pride in mutilating human flesh and bringing "tokens" to their generals. Would you like to know what some of those tokens were? And it is only a small fragment of one nation of people, the Haudenosaunee.

Go see the movie "Avatar" and you will have a good grasp of what happens to indigenous people around the world. You will also see what the solution should have been when the first aliens landed on our shores. In the words of this movie, "When someone has something that you want, turn them into your enemy and take it away from them."

This is the true spirit of mankind toward his fellow human kind. Please don't be so naive as to believe that the rulers of this world are respectful and genuinely interested in the welfare of indigenous people. The interests of those who control this world are not righteous. The "indigenous people" of the world today are not necessarily people of tribes or colors. They are the masses of the proletariat who are deceived into believing the governments of this world are interested in preserving their faiths, their languages, their cultures, their earth. I will tell you, they are not! In every corner of this world movements are underway by governments, militaries and religions to quell any attempts of people to think original thoughts that are in opposition to the will of the governments or ruling classes. Those who seek to create a better world, a cleaner earth, a preservation of resources, an end to wars, and a beginning of dialogue are quite effectively eliminated or exterminated. It is the spirit of forced assimilation and conversion to a way of thinking that is contrary to what God intended. And it is perpetuated and perpetrated by the sons of Caine and led by the prince of the power of the air, the king of lies and liars.......May God's Justice prevail, now and forever....and may it come quickly....To`na Wanagi

This has been for at least 20 years now despite what the government would tell you the people have had a desire and interest for many years before that. I think the biggest difficulty is that one tries to teach the masses and forget that its the individuals that learn and masses are like herds that follow the lead animal. But the human masses are also made up of the individuals and in the end when enough single people know and understand then the masses also must.

I say this to you but also know it to be true for my self; but we must stop being angry at the things we struggle to change and rather become resolved to work with it to reveal the truth even if we have to use a chisel where others would tell us to use a chainsaw. It is very easy to become frustrated and angry with the wrongs we see and can not fix alone; it is far to easy to allow ourselves to be driven to lash out in that anger when we see our heritage being destroyed, even more so when the destruction is systematic. But the error is and has always been to board up the windows and shoot randomly from the peep hole. Those you may hit are generally not your enemies.

I know many people that would like to learn more about your people and other native cultures but they are generally stuck buying cheep knock offs made in china because they have not been welcomed to visit with the natives or go near the res, except to gambol, and I doubt you will say that the casinos would make your ancestors exceptionally proud. The fact that you remain even more so because of the difficulty of learning suggests that your culture has much merit and since you are a teacher it will not die easily.

Br. Joseph;
My people were the first to experience the landing of the Europeans. And as such, we have had the longest ordeal and have experienced the greatest oppression of any other tribe in America. You cannot tell us "Let us into your homes and communities. You can trust us!" , and expect us to forget the first 1/2 millennium we experienced under foreign rule. The problem is that the American Indian has been either villified or romanticized to the extent that one either hates us as heathen savages and drunkards, or admires us as the stoic cigar-store Indian of lore. Neither is entirely true.

I am not holding onto anger or resentments. I am holding onto the truth and attempt to teach that truth not only to non-natives, but my own people as well, many of whom are in the dark as well. Your citing of casinos is an example of my disdain for what my people have involved themselves with. These are my people who have decided it would be useful to chase the wind and end up finding a dragon that no one knows how to slay. But I do. But they do not listen because they are drunk with the idea that money will save them and have even opened up the rez to selling alcohol. What's wrong with this picture? And learning a few words or phrases in an Indian dialect is of no use to anyone and actually "tokenizes" us as a novelty.

Is it hard to understand why I am opposed to these practices? One must only look into our history to see the foolishness of these enterprises. And I will continue to speak against these harmful behaviors and caution all people, of all colors, of the lies of alcohol, organized religions that distort truth, the song of the media that endeavors to persuade us to follow after a materialistic world, and of course the gambling that becomes an addictive behavior and which promises to line the pockets of my people with yellow stones whose weight will only drown them in the deepest sea of denial. These are the 4 mindchangers my ancestor prophesied and warned our people of. Can anyone deny the detrimental impact they have had on all Native Americans?

It is all a lie. And I will not follow after the liar, whatever color the liar appears to be. I will not be deceived into buying into the precepts of men. I will follow after that which God has ordained for me to be my purpose. I will hearken only to His voice...none other....God's Peace.....To`na Wanagi

Sadly I am inclined to agree with To`na Wanagi on this topic. There was a sickness in the souls of the ancestors of the people of the USA. It is still there in many of us, from our highest leaders to our lowest peons. This sickness twisted the Christian way of life into a tool for warfare and genocide. This soul sickness spread through Europe, murdering my ancestors tribal way of life. This soul sickness drove many a great man mad, and drove the Europeans past their economically dieing shores. It lead to the rape of this land, and the murder of its stewards. It caused the enslavement of people, the likes of which were never seen before. This soul sickness pushed us into Asia where we exploited their wealth and population. This soul sickness continues today. It makes our rich and powerful poison our air, water and food. They make medicines which make us sicker. They make devices to confuse and distract us. They make cars and machines to make us lazy. It also drives the middle and the lower classes to fight and keeps them divided and easily oppressed. This soul sickness is leading to our destruction.

Luckily, in order for To`na Wanagi’s prophecy to come true, the worlds leaders, both the public fronts and the hidden true leaders, must unite in one unified conspiracy. This soul sickness compels them to fight amongst themselves. Vying for control of the Mothers resources.

“Hard to see, the dark side is”

I think you misunderstand what I am trying to say. There are those that idolize the romantic stories of your people and there are those that have done the same for the "cowboys"; I will be the first to agree both of these are exceptionally foolish people. I am trying to say that there is an ever growing number of us that are fed up with the bird scat used to fertilize the myths.

I can not say that I have not gone to a casino and gamboled a bit but I can also say that my favorite places are far from the cities and farther from the mindset of the casino peoples and my chapel has long been the deep woods far enough from the roads that the trees speak confidently. I am not native to this continent but the truth has been to every continent and you only need listen to understand; and yes I said the trees talk though not as you or I.

I also understand that trust is not easily achieved; having been personally deceived by many that should have been trustworthy. I have been beaten and abused and know how easily it is to fall into the belief that none are to be trusted. Sadly, I once took this to mean that I could not even trust myself and at some later point realized that you eventually have to trust someone, or die. Soon after I got married to a woman that I had dated for over 2 years and have benefited enormously from that trust. So yes, by all means continue being careful but do not avoid all trust. Have faith that life will figure itself out eventually. Even if wrong you and I will live happier.

Begin peace within.

Now back on topic... I feel as a child of an immigrant family that it is important for immigrants to learn and use the local language. I do not condone the eradication of the worlds many many languages other than my own (which is that anyway), but it is beneficial to the host nation and to the children of the immigrants who will do better in school and hopefully get better and less physical jobs.

I am sorry that those who came here first nearly wiped out the previously indigenous people because it was wrong. Oddly and very recently pointed to that the first immigrants to the new world were 20,000 or more years earlier than the Asian migration that was previously believed that the natives came from. Native Americans all likely have some of the same family of ancestors as certain European states, Of course in addition to the Asian ancestors. More and more it is proven that we are one people despite our differences.

Within languages there are many truths and many lies. It is akin to the story of the fig tree and the story in Jeremiah 24:1-10 of the good figs and the bad figs. Humankind uses their words to deceive, baffle and confuse. And just as Mystic Tekaa speaks of what I have spoken many times and call to the attention of all, the 'soul sickness', this sickness must be pruned from the healthy branch that the rest may live. It is the spiritual blight of the world that causes this soul sickness and it is easily determined where it originates. It originates in the hearts of tyrants and kings, of high priests and false prophets, and is the product of those whose minds are drunken with a lust for power and control.

The first stage of a one-world government is to eliminate the languages of the world so the people will lose their identities. They wll succumb to the dumbing-down of the world as the master plan of men has planned. There are great cities around the world who have adopted English as their first language but is not their native tongue. It is for the purpose of commerce, who is also known as King Tyrus. His name is many other things as well, such as the 'prince of the power of the air' who perpetuates his lies through the media to make people believe these things are for the good of the people. This one-world government is much closer to reality than one might believe. There have been suggestions by world leaders that it might be a mixture of Mandarin and English and could be called 'sionese', a universal dialect language.

This world of man needs to wake up! It has fallen asleep spiritually and is allowing this blight to kill the souls of both sinners and saints with its lies. Those of us who cherish and respect Mother Earth, Ina Maka, are being made a mockery of by those whose lust for wealth attempt to humiliate us for our desire to clean up the environment which provides us the source of all life. They laugh at our God and truth, and taunt us for wanting to make a positive difference. They go to great lengths to eliminate the validity of our faiths and the sources of our inspiration. They will tear down those wonderful trees that speak to us and give us life and turn them into sheets of paper full of lies. They will desecrate our sacred spaces where we find solace so that we can find no rest. They will blaspheme the very teachings they claim have made our nations great. They corrupt the great wisdoms of our teachers, our prophets, our messengers, and harbingers of truth and expect us to accept their interpretations as the only words of truth. And the oppressed who are suffering from this soul-sickness will lay down all they have ever believed, all that had ever given them hope, all that would save their souls, for a mouldy crust of bread that cannot feed their spirit. They will forsake their god and their own children and follow after the father of lies and the liar. They will give their lives for naught and die in misery with the knowledge they have betrayed their spiritual core, their god and their own.

Yes, that is the ugly truth of where we are heading. And it begins with the elimination of species, languages, cultures, and individuality. It is time for the gardeners to come and prune the vine. It is time when those of us who wish to return to a place of paradise, must open our mouths and speak from our hearts our visions of reclaiming and redeeming our planet and all the inhabitants thereupon......We must not be ashamed. We must not fear. We must be convicted in heart, mind, soul, and spirit. And we must be willing to give our lives to exposing the truth so deeply buried in the legalese and doublespeak of those who speak with a forked tongue. These are the Kenites, the children of Caine. They have gained a firm foothold. And by their bad fruits you will know them......God's Justice.....To`na Wanagi

I live and was born in England so i speak two Languages English and very bad English

To'na Wanagi,

I find your words very powerful to my spirit. I send my prayers to the Spirit that what you have said may someday become reality, that the cruelty shown by world leaders would cease, and that cultures around the world will not be destroyed any longer.

Blessed be,

Rev. BC Hall-Ford

Is this all to say that the Universe is NOT unfolding as planned? What more can we do other than be prepared and awake and to hold to our Truth? Can we stop the tide, or keep the sun from rising? Can we cast out the darkness and make the world a place without suffering? Can we remove evil from the heart or mind of any other person? Isn't it true that we can't even do this for ourselves? Isn't this why we turn to GOD and ask that the veil to be lifted from our eyes?

to get back to the original topic:

I think it would be to the benefit of anyone living in this country to be able to communicate in some form of English. Not to begrudge anyone the right to speak their native tongue, but there needs to be an ability to communicate with the larger society we live in. I saw a young Hispanic woman's child wander away from her at Wal-Mart. The mother and her companions were looking at items on a table outside the entrance, and did not notice the little girl leave. I had to tell the mother with gestures and simple words that her child (maybe all of 2 or 3 years old) had wandered into the busy store. If a person had to come into the hospital critically ill or injured, but could not answer questions or provide informed consent, there is a number we can call to get an interpretor, but precious time is wasted.
I think it would be a matter of purpose...you NEED to know at least a modicum of the language of the system around you.
Beyond that, it does not matter to me, personally, what language a person uses. I am far more offended by the people that want to make everyone else bend to meet their specific rule of standard, it is so often connected to bitterness or contempt.

With enough duct tape and super glue anything is possible!

I cannot speak for To`na, but I believe yes, the universe is going according to plan. And no, we cannot stop that which must be. But we are not God, and therefore are ignorant to the part we play. We know not what ripples we create or how those ripples are already considered in His plan. And so, we must try to serve our Father’s will and do whatever we can to better the human condition. Whether our calling is to defend the persecuted or to give a bowl of soup to the hungry. Should it be to march in protest against tyranny, or to join the rescue of oil-covered animals, no matter what the outcome, we do all for the love of God, even if we never see the fruit of our efforts.

I agree with the need for basic English. It is good common sense, if nothing else but the reasons you have provided. But I have heard the stories of people who come here and to your America. Though learning about the culture and knowing the language would have been beneficial before they arrived; there is a common factor that I have heard from most that prevented them from undertaking such well thought out plan. Most suggested they fled from their countries in the midst of chaos, and were fearful of persecution/death, and only took whatever immediate means available to prevent their own demise. Some told stories of despair, and dreamed of the promise of a new land and future. Though not well thought out, they left their homes with their courage fueled by their hunger and having to watch their children in misery. Needless to say, given the same conditions, I could see myself attempt the same recklessness.
I think a lot of bitterness truly stems from a lack of caring to understand them.
Just the way I see it I guess.

God’s blessings,

Rev. Campbell.

OK, I can't answer for Tammy either here; I will make one thing clear though that those I know that are complaining about those that are not speaking English here are complaining not about those that have just arrived and are trying to learn but rather those that have come here and refuse to learn or having learned refuse to speak to us in English.

I have met very few that think that those who speak different languages should give them up entirely or at all. The people I know that want to have those moving here learn English and use it frequently already know at least one foreign language and will gladly do what they can do to help others that are trying to learn English too. For those of us that have been in other countries and have bothered to try and learn the languages there and see people coming from particularly Mexico and refusing to learn or speak English it is more than inconvenient and even more than dangerous as in the hospital picture Tammy painted; It is of the most extreme rudeness. By refusing to learn and speak English in a country that it is the dominant language you are perceived to be saying that you are so much better than everyone to bother. Additionally when all the safety and warning signs are printed in 2 languages it becomes harder for any one to read and the pictographs generally are even more difficult to interpret when they try to make it for 2 languages.

Dear Br. Joseph,

You make a very good point. I too would think it rude for someone able to speak my language but refuse to do so for whatever reason they may have. Unfortunately, upon first meeting a person, I would have a difficult time to discern who is capable and who is not. But those who pass on thoughts of what should be speak easily without thought of consequence to their words. I have spoken to many immigrants, but I certainly cannot use words like, most, or those people, or all of them. Should I choose to do so, leads the listeners of my words to perceive me as a sort of expert. If I choose such blanket words in a derogator statement, the listener who perceives me an expert, goes about spreading the same statements to others with the confidence of being accurate. All those associated with the derogator statement I made, must now suffer the consequences for my careless attitude and opinion. The point I’m trying to make, and had also tried in your quoted post, was to show that the few people we know, hardly complete any picture, and that perhaps, without the benefit of being in their shoes, may have more reasons not to comply with a hosting countries wishes, other than being purposely malicious.

God’s blessings,

Rev. Campbell.

Generally in any group it is the most annoying few that give a bad name to the whole. Most of the people I talk to generally think nothing ill of those people that are trying to communicate in English; we understand that learning a new language takes years and that we will rarely feel as comfortable with a language we have had less experience using. We don't expect fluency but the attempt is what matters. In most foreign countries if you can say please and thank you when you visit they will go out of their way to help you. That is true of here as well; but even in the most tourist friendly nation they expect those that emigrate to study and learn the language.

We have elders on all our reservations who live in remote areas and come to our villages for feast days and ceremonial events, many that are attended by tourists. A great many of our elders have never adopted the English language as their language and we will continue to enforce their right to do so. We have a great respect for our elderly people and do not throw them away to nursing homes when they become burdensome. So we certainly would never disrespect their right to speak our native tongues. Our languages are sacred to us and we are not obligated to share them with anyone outside of our communities.

If anyone is serious about understanding why I hold the position I do please take the time to go to this site;
http://www.nativeweb.org/pages/legal/squaw.html

Maybe my sister Marge can more eloquently articulate what has happened historically to our languages....Peace.....To`na Wanagi

I understand that to those who were here first, English is as an invasive weed and that Spanish is just another weed or perhaps flower for your lovely gardens. The difficulty is that the vast majority of those here have chosen to understand it and use it for daily communication with others here. By coming here and refusing to learn the language despite the difficulty in doing so, it makes not only our lives more difficult but theirs as well.

I doubt it will surprise you that even though I think every one choosing to emigrate to the USA should learn the language of the majority while dealing in public; I talk to my children somewhat frequently in German because that is where my family came from and well I sometimes think in it and feel that my children will benefit from learning that there are all kinds of languages. I would talk to them in french too but I am embarrassed at how little I actually know and am less attached to the french language since I have no relatives from there. My dad thought we should still be reuired to take Latin in grade school like he had to, thankfully even the nuns were unwilling to teach it to us.