The Intersection of Karuk Storytelling and Education
The Intersection of Karuk Storytelling and Education
The Intersection of Karuk Storytelling and Education
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storytelling. One <strong>of</strong> the most pervasive <strong>of</strong> these has been the change in languages. <strong>The</strong><br />
Káruk language, or Araaráhi (“the people’s language”) is <strong>of</strong> questionable lineage.<br />
William Bright addresses this question in the “Introduction” to his monumental Karok<br />
Language: “<strong>The</strong> Karok language is not closely or obviously related to any other. It has,<br />
however, been classified as a member <strong>of</strong> the northern group <strong>of</strong> Hokan languages, in a<br />
subgroup which includes Chimariko <strong>and</strong> the Shastan languages, spoken in the same<br />
general part <strong>of</strong> California as Karok itself. Considerable work remains to be done before<br />
the historical position <strong>of</strong> Karok can be properly clarified.” (1) Historically, our people<br />
were <strong>of</strong>ten multilingual: we had to be, living in such close proximity to the Yurok, who<br />
spoke an Algic language; <strong>and</strong> the Hupa, who spoke an Athabascan language. For<br />
perspective, Hokan, Algic <strong>and</strong> Athabascan are language families like Indo-European or<br />
Sino-Tibetan. Káruk is as little related to the languages <strong>of</strong> our nearest neighbors as it is to<br />
English, or as English is to Han Chinese. So it comes as no surprise that Káruk speakers<br />
would have taken up English as well upon the influx <strong>of</strong> the Americans. In fact, learning<br />
English seems to have been a popular thing to do upriver when field matrons Mary<br />
Ellicott Arnold <strong>and</strong> Mabel Reed established a school there. What does not follow from<br />
this equation alone is that English would supplant Káruk, but our discussion <strong>of</strong> settler<br />
colonialism gives us our explanation: it’s in America’s national interest to annihilate<br />
anything that might constitute a competing claim to the continent, <strong>and</strong> elements <strong>of</strong><br />
indigenous cultures do. How did schools factor into this? Arnold <strong>and</strong> Reed’s school<br />
seems to have been benign – they even made an effort to learn Araráhi. (Arnold & Reed<br />
243-244) But their actions did not represent <strong>of</strong>ficial policy. In its effort to extinguish<br />
Native cultures as viable rivals for the l<strong>and</strong>, <strong>and</strong> to incorporate them into the fabric <strong>of</strong><br />
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