Questions/Help

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Starbeam
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Re: Questions/Help

Postby Starbeam » 2019-11-07, 17:38

Do many tribes and cultures/ whatnot mind if you learn the associated language? If not, are there any other usual stipulations. I know people are different, i just do not wanna piss anyone off.

To clarify, i do not intend to learn something particularly off-limits like Maidu or act like i'm among just by speaking it.
I'm enby and go by they/them or whatever works in the languages i'm using.

Current avatar is a clipping from the Japanese animated movie California Crisis: Gun Salvo.

księżycowy

Re: Questions/Help

Postby księżycowy » 2019-11-07, 20:53

I generally am cautious against making broad statements when discussing issues like this. I think it's always a good idea to ask the tribe in question preemptively.

I can say from experience that in general the Iroquoian, Muskogean, Tlingit, Alaskan Native and Lakota peoples are open to non-Indiginous people learning their language. That's not to say you wouldn't run into those that think you shouldn't, even among these groups.

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Starbeam
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Re: Questions/Help

Postby Starbeam » 2019-11-09, 13:15

księżycowy wrote:I generally am cautious against making broad statements when discussing issues like this. I think it's always a good idea to ask the tribe in question preemptively.

I can say from experience that in general the Iroquoian, Muskogean, Tlingit, Alaskan Native, and Lakota peoples are open to non-Indigenous people learning their language. That's not to say you wouldn't run into those that think you shouldn't, even among these groups.


A few things:

1. I can't ask every single member of a tribe as if there's only a few. As for talking to leadership, that does help sometimes, but i have distrust of the concept of a handful of people speaking for a even a few dozen, let alone at least a hundred. Not that i'll speak over people who do want the leadership. Furthermore, opinions are bound to person; not culture or ethnicity.

2. I do not want to actually make things worse in the long run even by a little bit. I struggle to read many sources on the subject for a variety of reasons, and i'd rather not enrage people even unintentionally.

I know i sound defensive a bit, but i really am just nervous and afraid of unintentionally causing problems.
I'm enby and go by they/them or whatever works in the languages i'm using.

Current avatar is a clipping from the Japanese animated movie California Crisis: Gun Salvo.

księżycowy

Re: Questions/Help

Postby księżycowy » 2019-11-09, 13:37

1. I did not mean that you should ask every member of a tribe. I mean ask the governing body. Regardless of your distrust, that's how things work. For better or worse. Not everyone is going to like what the governing body says, but that's life.

2. How do you think you will make things worse?

I can say from experience that the tribes I've dealt with have been largely supportive, and helpful. I largely dealt with their language/cultural division, so that could say something, but it hardly derails my suggestions here. It's not like I asked for lessons, and they got out their pitchforks and torches to run me off.

There is still some dislike of non-Indigenous people in some tribes, but in my experience it is largely confined to individuals, rather than large swaths of people. I can remember when I was taking a Seneca class (which, mind you, was intended for tribal members mostly), and I only encountered one person one time say anything about disliking white people. I didn't particularly identify myself as one, so as to not start any issues, but he just said it once (in Seneca and then in English) as an introduction and it was dropped.

I'm not sure if this helps at all, but I think that it's just in how you go about it. If you simply send a respectful email to whatever tribe your interested in regarding learning their language it should be absolutely fine, and not reason for any anxiety.

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Starbeam
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Re: Questions/Help

Postby Starbeam » 2019-11-09, 14:05

EDIT: the damn server or whatever deleted my original longpost, so lemme ask if i can dm you for more.
I'm enby and go by they/them or whatever works in the languages i'm using.

Current avatar is a clipping from the Japanese animated movie California Crisis: Gun Salvo.

księżycowy

Re: Questions/Help

Postby księżycowy » 2019-11-09, 14:22

Sure, I don't mind. I'll help however I can.

susanaelysegross
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Re: Questions/Help

Postby susanaelysegross » 2021-07-26, 13:20

Hello and thank you for this opportunity to ask a question.
I recently watched an interview with Dr. Lewis Mehl-Madrona.
I took some notes on what he talked about.
In my notes, I have a word I would like to know about, but
I cannot find this word anywhere.
The word is: METAKWEASEN.
For sure, I have misspelled it...
Dr. Mehl-Madrona defined it as , "being aware of your actions
and who they affect, do good, don't hurt others..."
Can you help me to be sure of the Lakota word, metakweasen,
if that word is correct, or how the word should be spelled?
Thank you very much,
Susana


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