Collaborating With Indigenous Leaders to Create Books Counteracting Language Loss in Taiwan

• In Event: Bookmaking Projects to Sustain Indigenous Languages in Taiwan and the United States

Abstract

-Purpose
We sought local knowledge to create bi/trilingual books to introduce young Indigenous children to Atayal vocabulary and phrases. We worked with tribal members to create bi/trilingual books to counteract “thousands of ways in which indigenous languages, knowledges and cultures have been silenced or misrepresented” (Tuhiwai Smith, 2021, p. 21). We asked:
• How we might work with Indigenous leaders to create texts that counteract Indigenous language loss?
-Theoretical Framework
We drew on Community Cultural Wealth (Yosso, 2005) and its corollary Tribal Critical Theory (Brayboy, 2005; Hopkins, 2020) to honor the “array of cultural knowledge, skills, abilities, and contacts possessed by socially marginalized groups” (Yosso, 2005, p. 69). This meant creating texts that drew on Indigenous knowledge, challenge deficit assumptions, and honor community history, memory and culture (Yosso, 2005). Brayboy (2005) advocated approaches that honored and sustained traditional ideas, thoughts and epistemologies, maintaining that research with Indigenous communities must “be directed by a community and aimed toward improving the life chances and situations” (p. 440).
-Methodology and Data Sources
We recruited leadership teams (Table 1) from two Atayal Taiwanese communities (Table 2). These teams identified book topics, images, vocabulary, and language structures. Data included recorded/transcribed leadership meetings, completed books, and interview/focus group transcripts. Books were drafted and shared with Leadership Teams to solicit feedback which was used to revise the texts (Table 3). Focus groups and/or interviews were conducted with Tribal Leaders, teachers and parents.
-Findings
We present illustrative data documenting: 1.) our collaborative process; 2.) parent perspectives.
*Creating the Texts and Lessons Learned from Indigenous Leaders
Tribal leaders raised concerns about the book lokah su ga (How Are You)?. In Atayal culture, “How are you?” is reserved for people recovering from illness. However, Tribal Leaders did want children to learn the Atayal words for family members presented in this text (e.g., mother, father). Tribal Leaders identified the question, musa su inu (Where Are You Going)? as culturally appropriate. Other corrections involved terminology and missing details. We eventually drafted books that tribal leaders recognized as linguistically/culturally appropriate.
*Lessons Learned from Atayal Parents
Parents who were competent with Atayal used the books to teach children vocabulary. Parents who were learning Atayal reported asking children for help with Atayal words. One parent reported, “Sometimes, after I utter a word in Atayal, [my child] would say that it sounded incorrect.” Parents in the urban community preferred books that introduced useful words/phrases. One mother described using phrases from I Am Eating at mealtime. These parents were less excited about the books about millet harvesting and weaving, as traditional activities were not familiar to children. In contrast, participants in a remote village appreciated the book Grandpa Is Planting Millet. Thus, while communities shared Atayal heritage, different books resonated differently.
-Scholarly Significance
By working closely with tribal members, we learned important lessons about community wealth and the complexities of creating culturally sustaining materials.

Authors

• Catherine F. Compton-Lilly, University of South Carolina
  Presenting Author

• Ching-Ting Hsin, National Tsing Hua University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Ming-Fang Hsieh, National Tsing Hua University
  Non-Presenting Author