Language Revitalization in the San Juan Paiute Community and the Role of a Paiute Constitution

Abstract

ankatavats mangwisini, yaeya hee ya he ankatavats mangwisini, yaeya hee ya he ya taxapu nukwituaxaipuva taxapunukwituaxaipuva paava' kanixaiy hyang he' yang he' yang hee yang Round dance song recorded in 1993, sung by Johnny Lehi, Jr. Red sun rising yaeya hee ya he Red sun rising yaeya hee ya he At the place where my orphan used to run At the place where my orphan used to run While dwelling by the water hyang he' yang he' yang hee yang In the faJI of 1979, one of the authors accompanied a Kaibab-Paiute friend and colleague on a short visit to the San Juan Paiute settlement of Hidden Springs on the western part of the Navajo reservation. The scene made a lasting impression: parents and grandparents were calling out in Paiute to toddlers; even young people were interacting entirely in Paiute; and a young girl of II in long braids doing her homework by lantern light wanted to be shown how to write in Paiute. In contrast, fluent speakers of Southern Paiute in other Paiute communities were at that time primarily middleaged and older, and no young children were learning the language. To both outside observers and to the the San Juan themselves, it seemed that this San Juan community was one place where the Paiute language would continue to be *Deceased The Green Book of Language Revitalization in Pr<\Ciice