Stories are important in all human societies, and especially in
those whose languages are threatened with extinction. "They aren't
just entertainment," writes Laguna Pueblo novelist Leslie Marmon
Silko in "Ceremony." "They are all we have . . . to fight off
illness and death. You don't have anything if you don't have the
stories." The contributors to this volume, all linguists and
linguistic anthropologists concerned with the revitalization of
indigenous languages, draw on that understanding as they explore
Native American storytelling both as a response to and a symptom of
language endangerment. Edited by Paul V. Kroskrity, the essays show
how traditional stories, and their nontraditional written
descendants, such as poetry and graphic novels, help to maintain
Native cultures and languages.
Highlighting language renewal programs, "Telling Stories in the
Face of Danger" presents case studies from various North American
communities that show tribal stories as vehicles of moral
development, healing, and the construction of identity. For the
Arizona Tewa, storytelling is tied to the growth and development of
children, as well as to the cultivation of corn and other staples.
In some Apachean and Pueblo groups, people are traditionally
scolded with the rebuke: "Didn't your grandmother ever teach you
the stories?"
Several essays presented here describe successful efforts to
maintain, revitalize, and renew narrative traditions or to adapt
them to new institutions, such as schools. Others consider less
successful efforts, noting conflicts among older and younger tribal
members or differences between academic and traditional language
expertise or between insiders and outsiders. The contributors, some
of whom are members of the communities they describe, also examine
the use of narrative as an act of resistance.
"Telling Stories in the Face of Danger" bridges the gap between
anthropology, linguistics, and Native American studies. It will
engage readers in a crucial dialogue as it brings ethnographic
research to bear on language endangerment.
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