A connection to something
bigger
It was recently that my language turned
spiritual not just by what I was saying, but how I was learning. First by oral teachings
by family and friends, then by CDs and internet, then learning the international
phonetics the strange looking alphabet that makes up any language including Nuu-chah-nulth,
I could sound out words and understand what I was saying! I was going from culturally
illiterate to oral literate. It was at that moment that I tapped into a
strength that I had never experienced or could describe when you realize that a
language practice is our connection to something bigger than us; it’s a way of life.
Our language also provides a connection to something that lives within us, and
a new responsibility to honor it and speak our true language when and where we
can. In today’s culture, more and more people are building and rebuilding our
languages and creating language sanctuaries. This kind of spiritual practice is
highly individual in that the power is not in the search for answers, but in
the recognition that we already have them... We pray through our words and our
language guides us to a place of health and true identity. Speak your language
when you see me I will do my best to respond back let’s keep this culture alive
with our words.
