A6 Friday, November 11, 2011
STATE/OBITUARIES/RECORDS
Mescalero Apaches work to save language
data available on language fluency for most New Mexico tribes other than in census data, which is often inflated, said Christine Sims, assistant professor in the department of language, literacy and sociocultural studies at the University of New Mexico. But based on observations from tribal members, it appears “language shift” is occurring in most tribal communities, especially among younger generations, Sims said. For decades, the U.S. gover nment enforced assimilation policies aimed at suppressing native culture and language: for instance, through the Indian boarding school system developed in the 1870s. In the schools, thousands of Native American children were plucked from their homes and families, and were physically punished speaking tribal for tongues. the Nowadays, Mescalero Apache dialect, like other indigenous languages, is being ground down by the dominant English-language culture that works its way into the homes of the 4,000 residents in the Sacramento Mountain community through television, radio and the Inter net. With
each generation, fewer and fewer Apaches speak their own tongue, elders say. “If we just let that go and just go into the dominant society way of living, we aren’t Apaches anymore. That just bothers the heck out of me,” said Ted Rodriguez, a 74-yearold Mescalero Apache gaming of ficial who is often asked to sing Apache songs at ceremonies. Based on results of a survey conducted for the tribe, it was estimated in 1999 that less than onequarter of the reservation population, or no more than 950 people, could speak Apache, either fluently or in part. And the vast majority of those speakers, more than 80 percent, were older than 36. Last year, officials estimated that fewer than 150 tribal members were fluent in the Mescalero Apache dialect or its linguistic cousin, Chiricahua Apache, according to the NEH application. The vast majority of tribal elders, those 55 or older, interviewed in recent years expressed the belief that Apache dialects are dying, the application says. “Without the language, there is no identity. You can say you are Apache, but to what extent?” said Claudine Saenz, 67, whose grandchildren are trying to learn the language. “You don’t know the songs, you don’t know the prayers, you don’t know the ceremonies.” Apache is part of the Athabascan language family, which includes Navajo, spoken by more Native Americans than any other indigenous language in the U.S. and enshrined in a comprehensive dictionary decades ago. By contrast, members of Cochiti Pueblo refuse to allow their language to be written down or assigned to a dictionary, believing it is most proper to pass on the language orally, said John
the burden of helping her young mother in the rearing of seven brothers and sisters. In the early 1940s, the family moved from Oklahoma to New Mexico, where Naomi graduated from Hager man High School in 1948. She briefly attended Draughn’s Business School in Lubbock, Texas, before eloping with her husband Kenneth and starting a life together in Lake Arthur. Along the way, they welcomed four children into their family, and worked to make a wonderful family life in Hagerman. Mindful of her mother’s early widowhood, Naomi decided to return to college, ear ning her education degree in her mid-thirties. Thus began her second career as a first-grade teacher in the Hagerman Public Schools, where she is remembered as a loving, tough teacher who believed each child held great potential. While teaching
full time, Naomi pursued a graduate degree and received her Master of Education. Sadly, her husband Ken passed away in April 1985 after a long illness, and Naomi soldiered on, building a life on her own, but never losing focus of her children, grandchildren, and friends. A devout member of the Church of Christ, Naomi lived for Christ first, others second, and self last. Her caregivers at the Cinco Ranch Special Care Center and Autumn Leaves of The Woodlands, Texas, were devoted to the feisty, kind, flirtatious lady who retained her beautiful smile until the end. Naomi leaves behind her children, Ken Ward, of Hagerman, Retta Ward, of Santa Fe, Angie Ward Pratt and husband Richard, of The Woodlands, Texas, and Priscilla Ward Lowery and husband Brent, of Midland, Texas. Her grandchildren are Lauren and Alec Stapp;
Carly and Caitlyn Pratt; and Kurt, Jillian, and Kami Lowery. In addition to her children and grandchildren, Naomi is survived by her siblings, Alvin Gary, Bill Gary, Rachel Gary Walker, Gene Gary, Loretta Gary, Lester Gary, Christine King West and Robert King. Naomi was preceded in death by her parents and brother, Lavoice Gary, and her husband Kenneth Ward. A celebration of Naomi’s life will be held at 2 p.m., Friday, Nov. 11, 2011, at Ballard Funeral Home Chapel in Roswell. Those who wish to remember Naomi are encouraged to make a donation to the American Alzheimer’s Association 404½ N. Kentucky, Roswell, NM 88201, in lieu of flowers. “Let not your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told
Frances “Diane” Coey, 67, passed away on Sept. 28, 2011. Diane was born
Robert Teel Hugo Cordero vs Consuelo De La Cruz Filed Oct. 26 Latricia Ann Or ns Wilkomn vs T racy Lee Wilkomn Filed Oct. 27 Deanna L ynn WestonHelmer vs Scott Frederick Weston Filed Oct. 28 Karen Sue Daubert vs Kerry Ben Daubert Filed Oct. 31 Manda L. Wilson vs Daniel Compean Final Raquel Rios Rodriguez vs
Ezekiel Rodriguez Sr. Filed Nov. 1 Lawrence J. Mitchell vs Jani Sue Mitchell Final Martha Lemus vs Juan de Dios Lemus Erlinda Evette Iglesias vs Jesus Iglesias Deborah Elizabeth Silva vs Cruz Ray Silva Jr. Rosalinda Balderrama vs Juan Jose Balderrama Shaun Blosser vs Tiffany Blosser Filed Nov. 2 James Barela vs Rebecca Barela Filed Nov. 4
Marco A. Dominguez vs Yvette M. Dominguez Filed Nov. 7 Victoria Hernandez vs Jessie Hernandez Final Degroot, T. vs Degroot, D. Final Nov. 9 Jennifer D. Clayton vs Jody Glyn Clayton Michael Crump vs Deborah C. Crump Accidents Feb. 2011 2:30 p.m. — 3213 N. Main St.; vehicle owned by Mary Hogan, and unknown driver.
Nov. 8 12:32 p.m. — Walker Blvd. and Byr ne Street; drivers — Radafo Quintana, 59, and Jessica Ortega, 24, both of Roswell. 1:24 p.m. — 907 S. Wyoming Ave.; drivers — Johanna Franco, 38, and David Rollings, 44, both of Roswell. 2:55 p.m. — 415 N. Richardson Ave.; vehicle owned by Gracie Gomez, and John Adams, 68, both of Roswell. 4:18 p.m. — South Sunset and West Alameda; drivers — Ambrocio Bar-
AP Photo
Linguistic consultant Scott Rushforth teaches Apache during the Mescalero Apache Tribe Language Program's Apache language class, in Mescalero, Oct. 12.
MESCALERO (AP) — One word at a time, one student at a time, a group of Mescalero Apaches and their partner, a New Mexico State University anthropological linguist, are trying to stave off the demise of the tribe’s ancient tongue, the wellspring of its culture. “Like one of the elders said, every step is sacred,” said Oliver Enjady, an artist and former Tribal Council member who is director of Nde Bizaa, the tribe’s language program. “This (language) was given to us by the Creator for use by the Apaches. ... It’s who you are, and you can’t change that. If this is lost, then what is your identity?” The language program team has embarked on a three-year effort to produce a comprehensive English-to-Apache, Apache-to-English dictionary along with an introductory grammar. The dictionary, with about 20,000 entries, will be available in print or compact disc and paired with digital recordings of words for the Apache learner. “This is not just going to be put away, like in a time capsule,” Enjady said. The project also aims to expand the tribe’s histori-
OBITUARIES
Naomi Gary Ward
Naomi Gary Ward was reunited with her Savior and Lord Jesus Christ on Oct. 31, 2011, leaving behind the ravages of Alzheimer’s disease that slowly erased her memories, but never diminished her love or personality. Born on Aug. 7, 1929, to Roy and Jewel Gary, in Wapanucka, Okla., Naomi was a hard-working child of The Depression. After losing her beloved daddy at age 9, Naomi shouldered
PUBLIC RECORDS
Marriage Licenses Nov. 9 Darrell R. Kinkade, 35, and Kelly J. Dolan, 35, both of Roswell. Kevin Reitsma, 26, and Jessica L. Reavis, 23, both of Coal City. Michael J. Trujillo, 24, and Alma R. Valero, 25, both of Roswell. Nov. 10 Mike Stephen Perkins, 64, and Mary Jane Gordon, 61, both of Kansas City. Divorces Filed Oct. 25 Tracy Rae Teel vs John
cal archives with hundreds of hours of audio and high definition video recordings of people speaking Apache, mostly elders reciting traditional stories and personal or community histories. The project team, led by Enjady and NSMU linguist Scott Rushforth, will produce educational materials to be used in Mescalero schools. The project is being funded with a $321,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities under the agency’s Documenting Endangered Languages Program, an effort aimed at preserving imperiled Native American languages. Linguists have estimated there were as many as 300 to 500 languages spoken by indigenous people on the North American continent before the arrival of Europeans, but fewer than 200 survive today, said Ives Goddard, senior linguistics emeritus at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. Of the remaining languages, the number that children still learn in the home in substantial numbers is “probably fewer than 20.” There is no definitive
Grimley, language manager for the pueblo, which has an estimated 1,200 members. Producing a dictionary and expanding language archives are just part of a multipronged effort on the Mescalero Apache reservation to revive Native American dialects. For the past two years, with a federal grant for which Rushforth wrote the application, Bonna Dell Ortega has run a language immersion program for children between 2 and 5 who are exposed exclusively to Apache speakers for nearly five hours a day. The program currently hosts 13 children. “It will give kids a head start on lear ning to speak,” Ortega said. “These younger ones, they absorb so much.” Meanwhile, since the early ’90s, the tribe’s school system has made an Apache language class part of the curriculum, though all other classes are taught in English. Students must take an Apache language class through the eighth grade and at least one year in high school, said Lola Ahidley, director of language and cultural programs at the Mescalero Apache School, where roughly 500 students attend from prekindergarten to the 12th grade. Ahidley said that, after the years of schooling, many students can understand some Apache and speak simple phrases. “Where we lose them is when they go home,” Ahidley said. “There’s no reinforcement.” The tribe, through its language program, is producing its own educational materials so that students, and nonstudents, can practice Apache. Ndee Bizaa media technician Walter Scott, 26, who has studied graphic design and digital media at NMSU, has produced Apache language animated shorts on body parts, colors, numbers and ani-
you; for I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.” (John 14: 1-3) Arrangements have been entrusted to Ballard Funeral Home and Crematory. An online registry can be accessed at ballardfuneralhome.com.
Frances “Diane” Coey
Roswell Daily Record
mals. Team members are considering producing how-to videos on topics like cooking fry bread, making a tepee, and selfrespect. An Apache language class is also offered several evenings a week through the Nde Bizaa program. Rushforth explains language structure while native speakers converse with students. “One word can lead to another,” Enjady told a class of 19 students recently. “It’s up to you guys.” Apache dialects have their own unique character and feel. Certain words require the speaker to inject a tiny pause between side-by-side vowels. One consonant, expressed roughly as the sound created by a “tl,” requires a speaker to manipulate the tongue in ways that English and Spanish do not. The language also manifests cultural differences. Apache does not have a word for suicide or for the precise equivalent of goodbye. When two Apaches part ways, common farewells mean “I’ll see you again” or “travel in beauty,” Rodriguez said. “There’s a place for English, but there’s a place for our language, too,” said language program staf f member Sherman Blake, whose bloodlines include various Apache branches — Chiricahua, Mescalero and Lipan. “Some tribes have come to the point where they lost the last native speakers. ... This is why we try to teach as many as we can.” Asked whether she was hopeful the NEH-funded project can reverse the language shift, a term linguists use to describe the replacement of a minority group’s traditional language, Saenz said: “Let’s not say ‘hopeful,’ let’s say ‘prayerful.’ We pray that it (Apache) will come back. And us elders have to do our best to bring it back, and this program is a good start.”
in Roswell, and lived in several states before moving to Nashville, Tenn., in 1993. Diane thought wisely, loved deeply, and lived as if every moment may be her last. Preceded in death by her parents, Luther and Grace Parish, of New Mexico; daughter, Del Ann Pinkston, of Idaho. Survived by sister Rudell Quinn of New Mexico; daughters, Cynthia Walburn, of Idaho, and Kati Lane, of Tennessee; grandson, Dennis Mitchell, of Idaho; granddaughters, Amelia Maki, of Idaho, and Hettie Lane, of Tennessee; and great-granddaughter, Lily Diane of Idaho. Memorial benefit in Diane’s honor at Robert’s Wester n World Nov. 6, 2011, from 12 to 6 p.m. and proceeds will go to “Book’em,” a children’s literacy program. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made through Paypal (dianesbookemfund@ gmail.com). ron, 56, and Donita Brown, 33, both of Roswell. Nov. 9
12:20 a.m. — West Second and Pine streets; driver — Kristi Horton, 21, of Roswell. 9:25 a.m. — 1720 S. Main St. parking lot; vehicle owned by Fermin Sosa, of Roswell, and Robert Rodgers, 63, of Rio Rancho.
1:10 p.m. — Atkinson Ave. and Beloit; drivers — Timothy Sanchez, 44, of Clearwater, and Santos Gamboa, 17, of Roswell.