Maintaining an oral language tradition: A study of language maintenance in the Acoma Pueblo community

The people of Acoma, like other Native peoples of the Americas, have endured many centuries of contact with outside groups that have attempted to colonize them through force and to assimilate them through other forms of coercion. However, unlike many other Native groups, they were able to resist these assimilative forces and to retain their linguistic resources for over five hundred years of contact, at least until recent times. Acoma Pueblo, has begun to see a gradual erosion of its language, with education policies and practices greatly accelerating the process of language shift and loss over the past quarter century. A survey conducted in 1997 revealed that few of the children were learning the language of the community, largely because their parents were themselves unable to speak the language, and were thus unable to transmit the language to their children in the home. These facts have led the people of Acoma to take direct action, to insure that the language is not irretrievably lost to its future generations.;The purpose of this study was to examine the factors and nature of dynamics that give rise to language maintenance in an American Indian community, Acoma Pueblo, located in northwestern New Mexico. This study documents and describes language maintenance efforts in a tribal setting from both a historical and contemporary perspective. This study examines several key factors that have helped shape the nature of language maintenance in this community including the following: (1) historical language contact and the resulting strategies employed by the community in maintaining its language; and (2) current efforts to maintain an oral tradition through its community-based language initiative.;Aspects of the Pueblos socio-cultural organization and the inherent dynamics of family and community life in maintaining an oral tradition are examined through community perspectives. The perspectives that influence community interactions and participation in these efforts are discussed.;The study is based on interviews, observations, and language surveys collected in the community as tribal members participate in language planning, language teacher training, and instructional activities associated with the Pueblo's language retention program. Against this background, the significance of the community's effort to maintain its foundation in an oral tradition is examined.