goodbye and thank you
The last traditional speaker of the Eyak language died yesterday, making the language extinct. Eyak Chief Marie Smith Jones was 89 years old. She was the last person to have learned the language the traditional way, taught as a child from her parents.
Her long-time language documentarian, linguist Dr. Michael Krauss began working with her in 1962. He says Chief Marie kept the language going for many years after her older sister died in the early 1990s.............
Her long-time language documentarian, linguist Dr. Michael Krauss began working with her in 1962. He says Chief Marie kept the language going for many years after her older sister died in the early 1990s.............
Marie Smith Jones was a well-known activist and leader
By DEBRA McKINNEY
By DEBRA McKINNEY
Chief Marie Smith Jones, the last full-blooded Eyak and last Native speaker of the Eyak language, died Monday at her Fairview apartment.
She was 89.
According to her son, Leonard Smith, she was found in her bed. Her family believes she died in her sleep.
"Everyone is like, she not in pain anymore," said granddaughter Sherry Smith. "Because she has been in pain a lot."
Smith Jones was well-known in Alaska and beyond as an activist, and a feisty one. She took on her own Native corporation in a fight against clear-cutting on ancestral lands near Cordova. She oversaw the repatriation of bones when the Smithsonian Institution was forced to give them back. And she spoke at a United Nations conference on indigenous peoples. ........
According to her son, Leonard Smith, she was found in her bed. Her family believes she died in her sleep.
"Everyone is like, she not in pain anymore," said granddaughter Sherry Smith. "Because she has been in pain a lot."
Smith Jones was well-known in Alaska and beyond as an activist, and a feisty one. She took on her own Native corporation in a fight against clear-cutting on ancestral lands near Cordova. She oversaw the repatriation of bones when the Smithsonian Institution was forced to give them back. And she spoke at a United Nations conference on indigenous peoples. ........
(picture: alaska public radio network)
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2 comments:
If the way we think is formed by the languages we speak and are surrounded by, something one could easily argue, then the degree to which languages are blended becomes very important. However, the loss to the blend of the original unique language is still painful. When a language is lost without even having been absorbed into a blend, that is tragic. How very, very sad.
on my way home from work yesterday, i had npr on (which i do all of the time, anyway). there was someone on (i missed the beginning of the piece) who studied lost or dying languages. he had a tape of someone in siberia (i think it was siberia or mongolia or somewhere up north in that area) speaking their almost dead language. he was very old and was the last one or one of the last ones alive. it was sad
i agree about the blending though jean. i would have never thought of that. it's a good point
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