Mini-Outreach to the
Flathead Indian
Reservation
in Northwest Montana
Jun 4-7 2013
My
only contact with the Native American is through the Hollywood movies. And as a child, I did play ‘Cowboys and
Indians’. Apart from these, I have no
further knowledge. Therefore, to have a
mini-outreach in our FCD to the Flathead Indian Reservation in Northwest
Montana and learned about the Salish and Kootenai Native American Tribes is
truly once in my lifetime experience.
My
highlight was to meet Elder Small Salmon, from the Salish Tribe. He shared that today, there left only a few
full-blooded Salish Natives. As such,
the Salish language and culture would soon become extinct. Elder Small Salmon is one of the few left. He
went on to share that he gave up his acting career in Hollywood to teach the
Salish language and culture to the next generation. He now teaches the Salish language and
culture to about 60 children at the Nkwusm Salish Language Institute. My training has taught me to respect and honor
the cultures of all Nations. As I sat listening to Elder Small Salmon, I could
feel his passion to see his language, culture, people and land lived on for
many generations. There is much to learn from his dedication and commitment. He has given up a small ambition in the
Hollywood scene for a much bigger vision.
That is - raised up generations of his people where their language,
culture, stories and legends will live on forever. Here is a quote taken from the Nkwusm Salish
Language Institute handout, “When you lose your language, you lose the soul of
your culture because you are forever disconnected from the wisdom of your
ancestors.”
I come from a little island called
Singapore. Singapore is a multiracial
and multicultural country. We have a
unique language called ‘Singlish’. It’s
colloquial English. We can easily identify each other in the crowd when
‘Singlish’ is spoken. This is the power
of the language of the people. It’s our
identity as a people of the Nation. We belong to each other. Singaporeans are proud of our language and
culture. Shouldn’t it be the same for
all others.
My
highlight was to meet Elder Small Salmon, from the Salish Tribe. He shared that today, there left only a few
full-blooded Salish Natives. As such,
the Salish language and culture would soon become extinct. Elder Small Salmon is one of the few left. He
went on to share that he gave up his acting career in Hollywood to teach the
Salish language and culture to the next generation. He now teaches the Salish language and
culture to about 60 children at the Nkwusm Salish Language Institute. My training has taught me to respect and honor
the cultures of all Nations. As I sat listening to Elder Small Salmon, I could
feel his passion to see his language, culture, people and land lived on for
many generations. There is much to learn from his dedication and commitment. He has given up a small ambition in the
Hollywood scene for a much bigger vision.
That is - raised up generations of his people where their language,
culture, stories and legends will live on forever. Here is a quote taken from the Nkwusm Salish
Language Institute handout, “When you lose your language, you lose the soul of
your culture because you are forever disconnected from the wisdom of your
ancestors.”
I come from a little island called
Singapore. Singapore is a multiracial
and multicultural country. We have a
unique language called ‘Singlish’. It’s
colloquial English. We can easily identify each other in the crowd when
‘Singlish’ is spoken. This is the power
of the language of the people. It’s our
identity as a people of the Nation. We belong to each other. Singaporeans are proud of our language and
culture. Shouldn’t it be the same for
all others.