Tzō Cap'ān

Abstract

Awakening Pajalate and Native American Sign Language: Unveiling the failures of settler methodologies in academia, Kin, and linguisticsPajalate, the language of my people, Coahuiltecans, has been consumed, extracted, and dissected by multiple massive institutions and linguists. Furthermore, the lack of inclusion and legitimacy of Native American Sign Language in linguistic departments demonstrates a continued institutional failure. Thus, concerning the many academics who have sought to study my languages, Pajalate and Native American Sign Language are often conceptualized in a colonial framework as inanimate, dying, and extinct languages. Furthermore, there is a denial of genius and recognition of the Coahuiltecan linguists who had a massive impact on the creation of two lingua francas. These extractive mechanisms have occurred through Academia, the church, and other institutions. Their concerns have not been with or aided in the resurgence of Pajalate or Native American Sign Language. These methodologies also do not take into account the reasons why indigenous languages are going extinct and becoming endangered. These languages are dehumanized. Additionally, massive flaws are perpetuated and existent due to a settler ontological perception of Native communication and culture. These institutions have long sought to implement study and learning through a colonial methodology. These methodologies need to be revised regarding the resuscitation of these languages. Thus the language of the Coahuiltecans, Pajalate and Native American Sign Language, is experiencing diaspora and lacks revitalization. Reconceptualizing Coahuiltecan linguistics through a decolonial critique and an indigenous politics analysis encourages a kinship framework, attaching personhood to Pajalate and NSL, and rehistorization of those first indigenous linguists who created multiple lingua francas in the land of Coahuiltecans. My connection to my people grounds me and has perpetuated a disconnect from settler colonialism. Thus this paper will demonstrate the removal of settler bias, which has led to, and will lead to, astonishing linguistic and cultural revelations.