SDLC 105 Learning Journal 7

[Sequioa Roscoe]

The article discusses the revival of the Siletz language and culture over a period of time. I think that when a language and/or culture is lost then a part of a person’s identity is also lost because language and culture can tell us a lot about history. Just like many other American Indian tribes, the Siletz tribe has lost a piece of their identity as generations continue to follow and more children and adults start to assimilate into American culture and society. However, this started back when the US government started displacing American Indians and mixing tribes with one another though they did not speak the same language or have anything in common. The goal was to make them assimilate or become nonexistent, but the Siletz tribe prevail and eventually their language, songs, and dances were adopted by other tribes, whose traditions had started to fade out. Despite the Siletz tribe’s language being lost temporarily after the US government declared it nonexistent, they were able to gain it back and even create an online dictionary, which I think is cool, especially for languages that are not common such as English, French, Spanish, Chinese, etc.