Quotes from Anton Treuer

we are souls. We have bodies, which are just temporary houses for our souls. . .The body is a container.

No culture should be romanticized or denigrated: like all others, Indians should be understood and evaluated on their own terms

Many think the language is nice or pretty—like the song of a bird in the forest. There's a sense that the forest and especially humans don't depend on that sound for anything; it doesn't fill bellies or help people lead longer, healthier, happier lives. But nothing could be further from the truth. Physical, mental, and spiritual health are deeply intertwined.

I like some of the old spaghetti westerns because the Navajo extras they hired spent the entire time talking smack about the actors in the Diné language. With proper translation, it's incredibly entertaining.

It hurts more to be a victim of oppression than a beneficiary, but oppression dehumanizes everyone.

There are often many generations buried in every front yard—which makes it a lot harder to sell the family farm and move to California.

It is not sufficient to tell native kids to be proud of who they are if we do not also at the same time tell them who they are. The struggle in connecting young people to their traditions is compounded by a school system that consistently provides opportunities to learn about others but very few for native kids to learn about themselves. We have a lot of work to do.

When you speak someone's language, they get you. And the passion is contagious.

An education is a powerful lever that improves—but doesn't guarantee—the chances that someone can overcome adversity and make it in spite of the barriers. The myth of the American dream really is a myth.

Uncle Sam is never going to come walking out of the bush or over the Plains and hand you your language on a silver platter, saying, "Sorry about the last five hundred years." The world is not a fair place. Fairness is not given, it is made. So we have to engineer it ourselves.

As we seek to shape the change, we first have to see and explain to the world why language revitalization is important. Language warriors see the importance of their language, center their lives around it, and lead the effort to bring it back.

There is no way to convince everyone to support the revitalization of our languages, so laying out reasons for our efforts does not mean we wait for them all to join the movement. We act and advocate at the same time. The acting is required to combat inertia. We don't have time to waste.

Look for the whole story and you'll get a lot closer to the truth.

There has always been a fuss. The difference is that now you and others are listening.