A'AGA: Something to be told or talked about

Submitted by
Billy Allen

In 1990 President George H.W. Bush signed a proclamation designating November which became known as Native American Heritage Month. This past November, O’odham jeved/land was host to various get-togethers to celebrate O’odham. On Monday, Nov.18, Central Arizona College held an event which began with Robert Stone delivering a blessing. It was followed by a “Walk the Land,” a self-guided informational tour of campus with stops highlighting contributions of our Indigenous communities. Upon returning, Andrea Ramon, BA, MA, Adjunct for Tohono O’odham Community College, spoke of how she and others work closely with three Tohono O’odham Nation Head Start centers to transform them into immersion schools. A step to create a new generation of O’odham language speakers. This was followed by a modern O’odham-inspired lunch.

When Dr. Ofelia Zepeda’s A Papago Grammar book was published in 1983 it was a primer for the Papago Language. When the tribe adopted a new constitution in 1986, it officially changed its name to Tohono O’odham Nation (TON), the book was reissued as A Tohono O’odham Grammar. The 1983 book’s introduction states no research had been done to find out how many Tohono O’odham still spoke the ñi’okĭ – it was estimated about 70-75%. Good, since studies are usually done when a language is dying.

Time has shown her work to be beneficial for all O’odham speakers and writers. In 1998, the Tohono Oʼodham Nation established Tohono O’odham Community College in Sells, Arizona. TOCC offered college classes and was fully accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools in February 2003. 

Fast forward a couple of generations, ‘for the times, they are a-changin’. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization declared O’odham as a “definitively endangered language,” in 2017. The TON Education Department convened a meeting with the American Indian Language Development Institute at the TON Cultural Center and Museum – Himdag Ki: in 2018.  Consensus was reached and a goal was set, “Bringing our minds together to save our language.” Am o ‘i-hemakoc g t-cegĭtoidag k ‘am o ‘igewkamhun g t-ñi’ok. 

Training programs for language learners and teachers within the community were begun. It became evident a site for language documentation and research was also needed to house material and personnel. On November 19, 2024, an O’odham Language Center was formally dedicated on the campus of TOCC. College, tribal administration, teachers, dignitaries and community members were present to support this milestone. Tours throughout the building allowed all to imagine the possibilities.  It’s encouraging to see how Tohono O’odham Nation extends a nurturing welcome to other tribes to revitalize our language. 

Culture Teacher Gatherings were begun when GRIC and SRPMIC teachers met to exchange and discuss ways to implement cultural learning in the classroom. Today, the 4 brother tribes (GRIC, SRPMIC, Ak-Chin, TON) continue to assist educators with new ideas for the classroom and community. Meetings are rotated among the O’odham tribes. Friday, November 22, 2024, the TON Education Department held this year’s gathering at the TON Cultural Center and Museum. Administrators, teachers from community and charter schools along with interested community people attended to see and listen about various ways of teaching O’odham Ñi’okĭ. Teaching O’odham is not ‘one size fits all’.  Most of the presenters were O’odham sharing informative, helpful, class-room tested activities. (As a retired teacher I really appreciate that.) A few sessions were; Reviving the Gohimeli Ceremony, Coding-O’odham Technology, Games for Learning O’odham, O’odham Language Awareness Campaign, Venito Garcia/TOCC Libraries offerings, Doll-Making, and How TONCA TV Teaches O’odham.

But the best activity was hearing O’odham Ñi’okĭ, in greeting each other, asking for directions, inquiring from where one came from, etc.  Can’t wait for 2025, to meet new relatives and be surrounded by those learning O’odham.  

Material was gathered from National Native American Heritage Month | Indian Affairs; NATIONAL NATIVE AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH; GRIN, September 2020, Ak Chin Runner, October 7 -20, 2022,  and Frances Benavidez,  “We All Spoke O’odham”: Tohono O’odham Community College’s Collaborative Approach to Language Sustainability, The Tribal College, Journal of American Indian Higher Education.   Volume 35, No. 3 - Spring 2024, February 15, 2024. AI was not utilized.