Presidential Candidate in Navajo Nation Protests a Language Requirement

[geardaddy]

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/27/us/a-presidential-candidate-in-navajo-nation-protests-a-language-requirement.html?_r=1

TUBA CITY, Ariz. — In his run for president of the Navajo Nation, Chris Deschene has presented voters with impressive credentials: A veteran of the Marine Corps, he is a lawyer, a trained engineer and a former member of the Arizona House of Representatives, where he represented part of the tribe’s reservation.

But there is a problem that may disqualify him as a candidate: His command of the Navajo language is far from perfect, as he himself admits. And Navajo law requires the tribe’s president to speak the language fluently.

Thus Mr. Deschene’s candidacy has exposed a deep divide within the Navajo Nation, the country’s largest Indian tribe, about the role that language should play in modern Navajo society, the tribe’s direction in the new millennium and how traditionally Navajo the tribe’s leader needs to be.

As in so many Indian tribes, fewer and fewer young people understand the language. And for many tribal elders, the prospect of a president who does not speak fluent Navajo has stoked fears that the language could recede or even die, taking many of the tribe’s traditions with it.

“We are at a crossroads,” said Peterson Zah, 78, a former president of the Navajo Nation. He spoke proudly of the role the Navajo language played in World War II, when it was used as an unbreakable code that helped the United States defeat Japan. “Our nation is renowned for our language around the world,” he said. “If English becomes the dominant language, then what are we doing to ourselves?”

More at link.

[merrily]

1. Rec for visibility.

I have mixed feelings and am not sure where I come out.

I look forward to the comments of other DUers, which often help me consolidate my own views enough to decide, one way or the other.

[geardaddy]

3. I think ideally, he should be able to speak Navajo fluently

But I agree, I have mixed feelings. I think he could certainly learn to speak more fluently, if that's what his office requires.

[merrily]

7. This can kick into the English as the official language of a state or of

the US, which, in turn, kicks into the whole animus toward immigrants. Of course, it's not the same, but I bet discussion of this by the "professional right" goes down the xenophobic road.

If it matters that Navajo might die out without such requirements (would it die out without this requirement, though?), does it also matter if American English dies out? Should fluency in American English be a requirement to be President of the US?

Etc.

[geardaddy]

10. Very good points.

I thought of that, too re: English as the official state language.

But if the de facto language of government in the Navajo Nation is Navajo, wouldn't it make sense to at least be able to speak it somewhat fluently?

Do you think we would ever elect a POTUS who didn't speak English fluently? English is the de facto government language in the U.S. Don't you think the candidate for the presidency for the Navajo Nation should have at least a working knowledge of his nation's language?

[merrily]

12. Thanks! Yes, the parallel made me uneasy.

[cbayer]

4. I also have mixed feelings.

I saw a very interesting documentary called Miss Navajo a few years ago.

This contest also includes an expectation that the contestants will be able to converse in Navajo. They made an excellent case for why this should be.

Languages are difficult, but preserving languages is critical, particularly when they are primarily spoken and not written.

[kickysnana]

2. How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice, practice, practice. n/t

[jwirr]

5. They are going to lose a very capable candidate if they do not let him run. Years ago I went to

college with women from Africa. They knew that they would be discriminated against because they did not follow the traditional female role. Think of what their nation lost by turning them away. Sometimes there are reasons for making an exception.

[jberryhill]

6. It's up to them how they want to run their elections

I would not pretend to have an opinion on how they run their government.

[merrily]

8. Of course, it's up to only them and will be decided by only them.

Doesn't mean no one else can have a reaction, feeling or opinion about it.

It's up to Mrs. Duggar (for the most part) how many children she bears during her fertile years, but I have a reaction/feeling about that anyway. That's not taking her choice away from her.

[951-Riverside]

9. Screw you and your "rules", I'm a Marine dammit now make me President or else

...you hate all US Marines.

[geardaddy]

11. ...