ABSTRACT
In this chapter, Rebecca Blum Martinez presents an instructive and insightful case study of heritage language education. With the efforts of bilingual teachers, the Talpa School District of Northern New Mexico attempted to establish a Pueblo-English bilingual program based on the model of Spanish-English bilingual programs. However, members of the Pueblo Indian community angrily rejected this idea. Blum Martinez points out that the enthusiastic bilingual teachers and the school district failed to understand the role and sovereignty of the Pueblo language from the perspective of the Pueblo people. She explicates how the Pueblo language has developed into a means of resistance, the symbol of birthright and cultural heritage, the communicative code of relating to one another, and the mode of political governing for the Pueblo people. She suggests that, rather than indiscriminately applying the Spanish-English bilingual program formula, the school educators should (1) reconsider the rationale for teaching the Pueblo language, (2) teach the Pueblo language to prepare future community leaders, (3) understand the intrinsic values of the Pueblo language, and (4) develop teaching methods appropriate to the Pueblo culture.
