Siletz
Total population | |
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Fewer than 5,300 (2018) Salish peoples |
The Siletz (pronounced SIGH-lets) were the southernmost of several divisions of the
Their eastern neighbors the Central Kalapuya tribes called them Tsä Shnádsh amím.
In Chasta Costa and Euchre Creek-Tututni and Chetco-Tolowa they were known as Shii-lee-ch'ish, the Naltunne-Tututni name was Sai-lĕtc-́ĭc me-́t̟ûn-nĕ (all with reference to the Siletz River) and the Upper Coquille-Tututni name ʃɪllǽˑttʃʼɪʃmæ̽-dɜnhæ or Sii-lee-ch'ish- dv-ne ("Siletz River People").[4]
Today they are a constituent band of the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, and the group from which the confederation received its name. In 1856 following the
Over generations the Siletz people have faced brutal federal policies which resulted their 1.1 million acre reservation being illegally taken from them. Congress passed the Western Oregon Termination Act, ending the government to government relationship with the Siletz Tribes. The Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians was successful in lobbying Congress to repeal the Termination Act as applied to the Siletz and again was federally recognized as of November 18, 1977. Today their members are enrolled in the
The only native language still spoken on the reservation is Siletz Dee-ni, which is a combination of all Athbaskan dialectic variant vocabularies spoken by several of the original reservation tribes. In cooperation with the National Geographic Society and the Living Tongues Institute for Endangered Languages, the tribe produced a "talking dictionary" of Siletz Dee-ni in 2007 to aid in preservation and teaching.[5]
History
Traditionally, the Siletz were believed to be a
The Siletz were closely related in language and culture to the Tillamook tribe to their north along the Oregon Coast. During or after the Rogue River Wars of 1855–1856, which extended to areas of northern California, members of the tribe were moved by the United States government to the Coast Indian Reservation, later called the Siletz Reservation.
The Tillamook and peoples of more than 20 other small tribes, including the
Population
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Language
The Siletz are believed to have spoken the "Siletz dialect" or "Southern Tillamook" of the Tillamook (Hutyéyu) language, which was part of the Coast Salish languages. Tillamook was declared extinct when its last native speaker died in 1970.[3]
What is now known as the Siletz Dee-ni language was restricted historically to speakers in "a small area on the central Oregon coast."
In the 21st century, Siletz Dee-ni was the only native language still spoken on the reservation. Realizing that their language was endangered, the Consolidated Siletz tribe have taken actions to preserve and teach it. Also called Tolowa Dee-ni, the language has been studied by several groups. Members of the tribe have worked with a variety of linguists to document the language. Their work is "a comprehensive attempt to include the similarities and the differences of the known dialects of the Southwest Oregon / Northwestern California Athabaskan Language."[6]
The Siletz have taken part in an international effort by the National Geographic Society, the Living Tongues Institute for Endangered Languages,[5] and linguists such as K. David Harrison of Swarthmore College to save languages that are threatened with extinction. Alfred "Bud" Lane, among the last fluent native speakers of Siletz on the reservation, has recorded 14,000 words of the Siletz Dee-ni language. Lane and other Siletz had decided they wanted to work to preserve and revive the language.[2]
Lane's work was used to help produce a Siletz talking dictionary, one of eight dictionaries produced for endangered languages in this project, as reported at the annual meeting in 2012 of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). The bilingual dictionary, in English and Siletz Dee-ni, with illustrations, will be used to teach the dialect to tribal members in the Siletz Valley. Such digital tools and social media can help small groups communicate.[2] Professor Harrison said, "a positive effect of globalisation is that you can have a language that is spoken by only five or 50 people in one remote location, and now through digital technology that language can achieve a global voice and a global audience."[2]
References
- ^ "Enrollment", Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians website, 8 Aug 2011 (retrieved 1 Sept 2011)
- ^ a b c d e Jonathan Amos (18 February 2012). "BBC News - Digital tools 'to save languages'". BBC News. Retrieved 2012-06-03.
- ^ a b c d "Siletz"[usurped], Four Directions Institute. (retrieved 1 Sept 2011)
- ^ ILDA - Indigenous Languages Digital Archive
- ^ a b c d Anderson, Gregory D.S.; K. David Harrison (2007). "Siletz Talking Dictionary". Living Tongues Institute for Endangered Languages. Retrieved 2012-06-03.
- ^ "Guide to using the Siletz Dictionary" by Amy Smolek, in Anderson, Gregory D.S. and K. David Harrison. (2007) Siletz Talking Dictionary, Living Tongues Institute for Endangered Languages; accessed 25 November 2016
Further reading
- Tolowa Language Dictionary, 1st and 2nd Editions, by Loren Bommelyn
- Tolowa Dee-ni Language, by Loren Bommelyn, 1999.
- Tolowa Dee-ni Language: Vocabulary One, by Loren Bommelyn, 2000.
- Tututni/Sixes/Yuu-ke Dee-ne (Athabaskan) Language- Ida Bensell, by Victor Golla (also incorporated works with Ida by Elizabeth Jacobs).
External links
- Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, official site
- Siletz Language Project
- "Coast Salish tribes", University of Oregon
- "A Brief Interpretive History of the Rogue River War and the Coast, Alsea, and Siletz Reservations to 1894", California State University San Marcos