AMERICAN INDIAN LANGUAGES
CONNECTION TO LEWIS AND CLARK
If modern linguists could go back in time, surely some of them would
want to tag along on the Lewis and Clark Expedition. As the Corps
of Discovery proceeded west, the linguist/time-traveler would be
able to hear and study dozens of American Indian languages and dialects
before they were either lost forever or greatly influenced by European
languages. For Corps of Discovery members, however, the language
barriers between themselves and American Indian tribes presented
challenges that were critical to the success of the expedition.
OVERVIEW
This activity examines American Indian languages, their preservation,
and how the language problems on the Lewis and Clark Expedition
were handled.
PURPOSES
- To emphasize the crucial part played by language on the Lewis
and Clark Expedition.
- To examine the challenges presented by language differences
on the expedition and the methods used to meet the challenges.
- To conduct research on the status of selected American Indian
languages today.
ADVANCE PREPARATION
- Download copies of the AMERICAN
INDIAN LANGUAGE WORKSHEET (2 Pages) and make copies for each
student.
- Download AMERICAN INDIAN
LANGUAGES ENCOUNTERED BY LEWIS AND CLARK. Assign the languages
to individuals or groups, or cut the names apart and have students
randomly select them.
IMPLEMENTATION
Selecting Interpreters for the Journey
Captains Lewis and Clark were well aware that communication on the
journey west would be a serious challenge. From the beginning, efforts
were made to hire men who could speak other languages, particularly
the languages of western Indian tribes. It was not difficult to
find men who knew Indian languages spoken along the lower Missouri
River. White men had been trading with Indian tribes in those areas
for decades. Also, children of whites and Indian marriages often
spoke the languages of both parents.
George Drouillard (pronounced DREW yar) was one of the latter. His
father was French and his mother was Shawnee. In addition to those
two languages, he also spoke English and was proficient in Plains
Indian sign language. Lewis and Clark were recruiting crew members
in Illinois when they met Drouillard. They quickly hired him to
serve as both interpreter and hunter. Later, at St. Charles (just
west of St. Louis), Francois Labiche and Pierre Cruzatte were recruited.
Both men had French fathers and Omaha mothers and both spoke French,
Omaha, and English. In addition, Cruzatte was skillful in Plains
Indian sign language.
On the way to the Mandan and Hidatsa villages, the captains were
frequently assisted by traders of various nationalities. Pierre
Dorion, a French-Canadian fur trader, helped the captains communicate
with the Yankton Sioux. Dorion was married to a Sioux woman and
had lived among the Sioux for twenty years. During the winter at
the Mandan and Hidatsa villages, white traders who came to the villages
also helped with language interpretation. For Lewis and Clark, obtaining
information from the Hidatsa was very important. In their raids
against other Indian tribes, Hidatsa warriors had traveled west
on the very route the expedition would be taking.
Living among the Hidatsa that winter was a French-Canadian guide
named Toussaint Charbonneau who spoke French and Hidatsa. When he
learned about the expedition, he asked to be hired as an interpreter.
He also wanted to bring along one of his Shoshone wives. Her name
was Sacagawea and she spoke both Hidatsa and Shoshone. She had been
kidnapped by a Hidatsa raiding party from her homeland several years
previously. She was pregnant, but Charbonneau insisted that the
baby would be born and ready to travel by the spring, 1805 departure
date.
By this time, the captains knew they would need horses to get across
the mountains. They also knew the Shoshone owned many horses and
that a Shoshone interpreter would be a godsend. So Charbonneau was
hired and allowed to bring his wife along. Their son was born in
February, about six weeks before the expedition left the Mandan
villages.
When the expedition finally reached the Shoshone encampment, they
began trying to trade for horses. Although Sacagawea knew Shoshone,
she did not speak English. Consequently, Lewis and Clark's communication
with the Shoshone chief had to pass through three interpreters to
reach the chief. First, Lewis or Clark spoke to Labiche in English.
Labiche passed the message to Charbonneau in French. Charbonneau
repeated it to Sacagawea in Hidatsa, and Sacagawea then translated
the message to Shoshone for the chief!
Importance of Indian Sign Language
After leaving the Shoshone, communication became even more difficult.
From there to the Pacific Ocean, none of the Corps members spoke
or understood any of the native languages. Corps members had used
Indian sign language to supplement verbal translation all the way.
Now, this form of communication became more important than ever.
Long before Europeans arrived in America, inhabitants of the Great
Plains spoke many different languages and dialects. (A dialect is
a variation of a language spoken by a distinct group.) In order
to communicate and trade with one another, the Plains tribes gradually
developed a system of hand signs that could be understood by everyone.
Fortunately, several members on the expedition were adept at this
sign language. (For more information on Plains Indian sign language,
click on http://www.nativeweb.org/hosted/language/,
then choose "Sign Talk.")
Development of American Indian Languages
Linguistics is the scientific study of speech—its origins,
modifications through time, and connections with other languages.
In their study of human speech, linguists have found that there
are no "primitive" languages. All languages possess the
elements necessary for communication-nouns, verbs, modifiers, etc.
In other words, the language of a hunter-gatherer society in an
isolated pocket of the world is no less intricate and meaningful
than the languages of people in modern industrial nations.
When Europeans came to the New World, they were surprised at the
number and variety of languages spoken by the native inhabitants.
In addition, their languages sounded differently than European languages.
This is because New World languages and Old World languages are
unrelated. Linguists classify languages into families based on certain
similarities. Because there was only marginal contact between the
two regions until the late fifteenth century, languages in Europe
and America developed independently.
The same may be true within one region. In ancient America, for
example, the population was small and scattered so that languages
and other customs differed widely from group to group. As the population
grew and more contacts were made, cultural borrowing and language
mixing began.
Loss of American Indian Languages
When contact was made between Europe and America in 1492, linguists
estimate that 300 languages were spoken in North America. Today,
only about half that many are still spoken. Loss of languages is
due to many factors. Under United States Indian policy in the early
twentieth century, Indian children were sent to boarding schools
far from their homes where they were forbidden to use their native
tongues. Although that travesty no longer occurs, many Indian children
in the mainstream of American culture no longer wish to learn their
traditional languages, or do not have the opportunity to do so.
Many American Indians see the loss of their traditional languages
as a major catastrophe. They feel that the language spoken by a
people is an integral part of their culture. A group's literature,
oral traditions, songs, poetry, and sacred rituals are imbedded
in its language. Even when translations are made, it is not the
same.
Linguists see the loss of American Indian languages as a catastrophe
also, but for somewhat different reasons. The great numbers and
variety of Indian languages in both North and South America provide
a basis for scientific study of the origins, modifications, movements,
and connections of all languages. Though their motives may differ,
both parties are currently engaged in saving native languages on
the verge of extinction and revitalizing others that are still viable.
In this activity we are going to conduct research on some of the
American Indian languages encountered by the Corps of Discovery.
(This activity may be used as an individual or a group project.
For a group project, divide the class into units of three and allow
unit members to divide the three research subjects on the worksheet
among themselves.)
Presentation
When the students have completed their research, help them organize
an American Indian Language Festival. Some suggestions for a festival
follow:
- Combine this activity with an art project by presenting research
information attractively on poster boards or tri-fold displays.
- Demonstrate the pronunciation of words and phrases in various
languages.
- Invite native speakers of one or more of the languages studied
to make a presentation.
- Invite a linguist to explain what linguists do and how they
work.
- Reenact the scene wherein Lewis and Clark communicated with
the Shoshone chief through three interpreters.
- Recount an incident from the Lewis and Clark journals when communication
was critical to the survival of the group.
- Demonstrate some of the common hand signals of American Plains
Indian sign language.
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