Hope Amidst Threat: A Look into 'Ohlone Mutsun' featuring KANYON SAYERS-ROODS
If there is threat, there is hope. If there is problem, there is a way towards victory. Amidst the successive death of Languages, a flower of hope has blossomed in the modern 'Ohlone' community somewhere in Hollister, Watsonville & San Francisco Bay area. They are trying hard to revitalize their loving 'Mutsun' Language along with linguistics & anthropologist. Before knowing more about 'Ohlone' & 'Mutsun', we have a very special guest - KANYON SAYERS-ROODS, an active representative & leader of modern Ohlone community. She shared her interesting view on 'lanuage death', 'lanuage revitalization', 'importance of indigenous culture' with us. She also shared her inspiring story, her poetry, their songs, cultures etc. Let's check it first.
KANYON SAYERS-ROODS:
"It is due to the indigenous people that these lands have been so beautifully maintained; the land management practices and just our relationship and responsibility to the earth."
"Yelamu is what San Francisco as before it was San Francisco, before this was California, before this was the United States. Indigenous people have always been on these lands."
"I sing a grandmother song because we need to honor our grandmothers, their grandmothers and in all, mother earth. For without them and without her, we would not be here."
"When a elder dies, a library burns to the ground."
"It's very important that we acknowledge and recognize indigenous protocol; that's becoming familiar with the people whose land we are on."
"My mother and my grandmother believe that when song, ceremony and dancing stops, so does the earth. I too believe that."
POETRY:
Mama Terras Sacred (poem) at piretakawas (of this earth, mutsun-ohlone): LISTEN
SONG:
Earth Song (Pire Saawe) in Mutsun Language: LISTEN
LYRICS in MUTSUN:
"pire kan-ama,
sii kan-patYtYan,
hiTTew kan-nossow
sottow kan-nossow"
MEANING in ENGLISH:
"Earth my body,
Water my blood,
Air my breath
Fire my spirit"
EDITOR'S NOTE:
OHLONE:
Ohlone or Costanoan are the native American indigenous people of Northern California coast. During the first contact in 18th century there were 10000+ Ohlone but the number has been gradually decreased to only 2000 as of now. They have very distinct rich culture.
Learn more about Ohlone on Wikipedia
MUTSUN:
The Mutsun language is one of the Costanoan/Ohlone languages.
Mutsun was spoken near San Juan Bautista, Cali-
fornia. The last known fluent speaker of Mutsun, Ascensión Solórsano, died in 1930 and
the last known fluent speaker of any Ohlone language died in 1939.
But a massive revitalization has been going on to recover the language, grammer, culture and their ecological understanding. There is a commendable success. There is still no new fluent speaker but the research & education is going brilliantly.
Learn more about Mutsun on Wikipedia
MUTSUN-ENGLISH & ENGLISH-MUTSUN DICTIONARY:
A Himalayan work by Natasha Warner, Lynnika Butler and Quirina Geary.
Download it & keep a treasure with you: DICTIONARY
OTHER RELEVANT LINKS FOR MORE INTERESTED READERS:
Amah Mutsun
Education
kanyon konsulting
ABOUT OUR GUEST
I am a Mutsun-Ohlone & Chumash - California Native TwoSpirit Woman. I am a creative artist ever inspired by nature and the natural world, Catalyst of decolonizing conversations. Contemporary & Traditional Artist, Native Representative, Consultant, Advocate of Truth in History, Multimedia Artist, "Coyote", T.E.K educator, and much more - Here to connect, educate and offer Indigenous perspective to the spaces I share my voice and presence around and within.
Honor the past to Shape the future
Formal Bio:
Kanyon "Coyote Woman" (Hahashkani) Sayers-Roods is a Mutsun-Ohlone and Chumash woman. She is proud of her heritage and her native name and is an active leader in the Native Community.
Kanyon is the Co-founder & CEO of Kanyon Konsulting LLC, where she strives to bridge the gap between indigenous and contemporary value systems. Her goal is to make a difference in the lives of others by sharing her life experiences and knowledge about California Native Americans focusing on global education with emphasis on promoting understanding of the relationship between humanity and the natural world.
Born and raised in Indian Canyon (the only federally recognized
'Indian Country" along Central Coastal California) by her mother Ann Marie Sayers, Kanyon continues to be an Ancestor-in-training by honoring the past to shape the future.
As the opening speaker at events such as the Global Climate Action Summit and Americans for the Arts Annual Conference in San Francisco in 2018, Kanyon reminds her audiences of the importance of acknowledging the spaces and places that we are on.
Kanyon thrives as an artist, poet, author, activist, student, and teacher. Her art has been featured at the De Young Museum, The Somarts Gallery, Gathering Tribes, Snag Magazine, and numerous Powwows and Indigenous Gatherings. She is a recent graduate of the Art Institute of California, Sunnyvale, obtaining her Associate and Bachelor of Science degrees in Web Design and Interactive Media.
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