Cultural Representation in Costa Rican Indigenous Textbooks Rolando Coto-Solano. University of Arizona. Sandrizona 2015

Contents

1. History of Indigenous Education in Costa Rica 1.1. Existing Indigenous groups 1.2. History of Indigenous Education 1.3. Intercultural Bilingual Education (1980-Present) 1.4. Teacher training 2. Textbooks and language materials 2.1. Materials and types of learners 2.2. Types of materials available 2.3. Evaluating books: Representation of Indigenous Cultures 2.4. Evaluating books: Authorship 2.5. Evaluating books: Reversal of language shift 3. Analysis 3.1. Comparison with other books about indigenous peoples in Costa Rica 3.2. Comparison with other curriculum materials in Latin America 4. Conclusions

Costa Rica: 104000 people self-identify as members of an Indigenous community (2.4% of population; INEC 2011). 8 communities, 4 living languages (+3 dormant ones)

Costa Rica: 104000 people self-identify as members of an Indigenous community (2.4% of population; INEC 2011). 8 communities, 4 living languages (+3 dormant ones)

Languages (INEC 2011, Moseley 2010, Sánchez 2013) Community Members Speakers Status Bribri 12785 6991 (55%) Vulnerable Cabécar 12707 11133 (88%) Vulnerable Ngäbere 3654 2838 (78%) Definitely endangered Maleku 498 336 (67%) Severely endangered

Precolumbian

• The religious hierarchy had some forms of formal education. The Bribri awá “priest/doctor” trainée, for example, would need to learn about plants and what the correct prayers are for each disease.

Colony

• Spanish Imperial and Church policies varied. At first they promoted the learning of the Native languages (16th-17th century) but later banned them in education and religion.

1800s-1930s

• The new republic starts public education in large cities, but leave rural areas unattended. Towards the 1900s it assumes Native communities will “die out” so there’s little formal schooling.

1930-1980s

• Governments extend Spanish education to Native communities. This education was based on submersion (monolingualism in Spanish).

Indigenous Education in Costa Rica (before 1980s)

Intercultural Bilingual Education

Legal framework

• Bilingual programs are created after 1980. The current regulation for Indigenous Education was launched on July 2013 (Law 37801-MEP). It reforms consultation mecanisms between the Ministry of Public Education and Indigenous comunities.

Coverage and enrollment

• There are 238 schools and 21 high schools in Indigenous territories, with a total of 9000 students. 93% of children eligible for primay education are in school.

• Students take 3 language classes and 2 culture classes each week (1 class = 50 mins).

Facilities and IT access

• The schools have 45/100 points in infrastructure.

• Only 22.5% of Indigenous peoples reported ever having used the Internet, and Indigenous schools have on average 5/100 points in IT access.

Teachers

• 70% of schools only have one teacher.

• Only 38% of the teachers have some form of teacher certification.

There are two programs in the country that train Indigenous teachers: (1) The National University trains Bribri, Cabécar and Ngäbe teachers

in its Masters in Rural Education Program.

(2) The Siwa Pakö program is run by three public universities (University of Costa Rica, National University and National Distance University) and trains Cabécar teachers.

Teacher Training

Most materials available are for learners of Indigenous languages as L2, and are mostly available to non-Indigenous leaners of the languages. A few materials exist for L1 learners.

Materials and type of learners

Grammars and dictionaries

• Grammars and dictionaries written by linguists. All languages have grammars, 2 languages have dictionaries and only one has books for L2 learners.

Transcribed Oral Literature

• Oral literature (mythological literature, creation stories)

Textbooks

• Textbooks developed in consultation or colaboration with community members. There are very few examples of these.

Types of materials available (printed)

Materials for L2 learning

• Websites and downloadable PDFs designed by universities and researchers. Those are mainly accessible to L2 learners at the universities.

Blogs by community members

• A very few blogs highlighting Indigenous communities and traditions.

Media by activists and community members

• YouTube videos of Indigenous songs and stories.

• Translation of material into Indigenous languages (e.g. national anthem)

Types of materials available (online)

I’ll use three criteria to evaluate current textbooks: (1) Representation of indigenous cultures and peoples

(2) Book authorship

(3) Potential to reverse language shift

Evaluating books

The following theoretical positions will inform the work: Critical discourse analysis (Van Dijk, 2008; Fairclough, 1995) Focuses on how linguistic discourses "enact, confirm, legitimate, reproduce or challenge relations of power and dominance in society " (Van Dijk, 2008, p. 353) Multimodality (Kress 2010, Murray 2013) Description of communication in terms of textual, aural, linguistic and visual resources Decolonization (Tuwihai Smith 1999) "Indigenous peoples want to tell our own stories, write our own versions, in our our ways, for our own purposes. […] Reading and interpretation present problems when we do not see ourselves in the text"

Methodology

How do these books represent the contemporary life of Indigenous communities, as well as a decolonized vision of their own knowledge and culture? (i) The seven books in the Ministry of Education's

compulsory textbooks for school and high school (MEP Act 19-2008) are limited to mythical literature (e.g. creation stories) compiled by linguists. They are transcribed from the speech of elders, but they present Native peoples and stories as beings "from the past“. This is more visible the further the books move from primary to secondary education.

(ii) The two bilingual textbooks in use, the Cabécar Sa Ñayuwa (launched in 2011) and a new pan-community book to learn English from an indigenous context (to be launched in 2015), offer a more balanced view, with snippets of traditional life interspersed with images from contemporary life.

Evaluating books: (1) Representation of Indigenous Cultures

ABC Cabécar Cabécar, 1st grade Margery (2005:1,7) Letters a and ë

Kó Késka Bribri, 7-9th grade Jara & García (1997:19) Sibökomo, creator of the world

Kó Késka Bribri, 7-9th grade Jara & García (1997:19) Sibökomo, creator of the world

Some textbook titles Fernández & Varas: Cabécar Stories (1st-3rd grade) García & Jaén: Les sa Yilite - Our Origins, Bribri (10th-11th grades) Bribri Stories from Talamanca and Cabagra, Bribri (7th-11th grades) Steward Morales: Seeds of Sibö Traditional Stories, Bribri (4th-9th grades) Jara & García: Kó Késka The Place of Time, Bribri (7th-9th grade)

Sa Ñayuwa Cabécar, 1st grade Hedström & Fernández (2005:19) “What school do you go to?”

Sa Ñayuwa Cabécar,1st grade Hedström & Fernández (2005:61) “What do baskets from our community look like?”

Sa Ñayuwa Cabécar, 1st grade Hedström & Fernández (2005:138) “Wash your hands before eating

Sa Ñayuwa Cabécar,1st grade Hedström & Fernández (2005:139) “You shouldn’t touch a dead body if you don’t have the training of a Cabécar jo (burial elder)”

Historias Cabécares 2 Cabécar, 2nd-3rd grade Fernández & Varas (1989:9-15) “Lord Sun and the Hurricane Children”

Historias Cabécares 2 Cabécar, 2nd-3rd grade Fernández & Varas (1989:9-15) “Lord Sun and the Hurricane Children”

Chapter 2, Article 2 of Law 37801-MEP states that some of the objectives of Indigenous Education in Costa Rica are: “(10) Help in the written translation of educational materials into the languages of Indigenous peoples. (12) Provide answers to the socioeconomic and cultural needs of Indigenous peoples, in a way that encompasses their history, knowledge and techniques, their value systems and their material and spiritual aspirations.” Chapter 4, Section I, Article 15 institutes the Local Councils for Indigenous Education, whose duties include: “(3) Collaborate with educational authorities in the organization of communal consultation processes for the contextualization and pertinence of study programs and educational services offered in Indigenous territories.”

Evaluating books: (2) Authorship

• All of the 7 official books in the primary and secondary curriculum have at least one Indigenous co-author or consultant, but they are ultimately created by universities, independent researchers, or the Ministry of Education, with limited input from communities. • Moreover, the law makes no specific provisions for the creation of materials to be used exclusively by the communities. It encourages translation of materials and adaptation of the existing curriculum, but it does not place the creation of the curriculum in the hands of the communities. This reduces the potential of the material to reflect the concerns of Indigenous populations. • Will the new law bring increased input from communities? This remains to be seen.

Evaluating books: (2) Authorship

Evaluating books: (3) Reversal of language shift

Using UNESCO's (2003) metrics for the vitality of language, we can appreciate that: (i) Criterion 6: Materials for Language Education and

Literacy: The materials at most reach stage 2, where: "Written materials exist, but they may only be useful for some members of the community; and for others, they may have a symbolic significance. Literacy education in the language is not a part of the school curriculum".

(ii) Criterion 5: Response to New Domains and Media: The materials don't appear to carry the language beyond stage 1, "minimal", where: "The language is used only in a few new domains".

The materials are not causing the expected impact in reversing language shift, particularly for communities with thousands of L1 speakers.

ašiihkiwi neehi kiišikwi myaamionki Earth and Sky The Place of the Myaamiaki (USA)

(McCoy et.al. 2011:72-73) “Where will the next generation of Myaamiaki take us? We can't wait to find out!”

Summary and Analysis

(1) Educational materials still largely project the image that Indigenous populations are a component of the “past” of the country: They are where we come from, but they are not an active part of contemporary Costa Rica.

Summary and Analysis

(1) Educational materials still largely project the image that Indigenous populations are a component of the “past” of the country: They are where we come from, but they are not an active part of contemporary Costa Rica.

(2) Production of educational material by community members is still very low.

Summary and Analysis

(1) Educational materials still largely project the image that Indigenous populations are a component of the “past” of the country: They are where we come from, but they are not an active part of contemporary Costa Rica.

(2) Production of educational material by community members is still very low.

(3) Some materials that support IBE have been produced beginning in 2011, in particular in programs like Siwa Pakö, but they are not yet the main textbooks in Indigenous education.

Comparison with other books about Indigenous peoples in Costa Rica

“It's not the fault of your world, Judith, it's the fault of mine [...] amongst its desire to forget its own roots, burying them at the bottom of an endless cliff”

Angélica Sánchez Martínez. "Judith“ Aún somos cabécares (González & Escobar 2013)

There is an increasing interest in documenting both the thoughts and the points of view of Indigenous populations for the purpose of social justice. However: (i) These documents are almost always mediated by non-

Indigenous people (ii) They are almost always framed in “universalist” terms

(Errington 2003; Hill 2002), so that languages are preserved for “the sake of humanity”, of the country and its culture, and not for a specific community. Audiovisual media also follows this trend (Bolaños & González 2010)

While this is a difficult comparison, it seems that IBE programs like those in Bolivia and Mexico have made a lot more progress than those in Costa Rica. More efforts need to be made across the continent to continue to improve Indigenous education.

Comparison with the situation in other Latin American countries

Conclusions

• Intercultural Bilingual Education is still a work in progress in Costa Rican Indigenous Education.

• There needs to be more involvement from the community in the design of curricula and textbooks.

• While these goals are stated in current laws, their actual implementation is still in progress.

• This implementation also has to reach Indigenous peoples outside of Indigenous territories, which are more than 20% of all Indigenous peoples in the country.

Future Research

Programs like Siwa Pakö and Week of Diversity of Costa Rican Languages continue to work very hard producing new textbooks!

Acknowledgments

This project was much improved through the help, comments and suggestions of the following people: Dr. Sheilah Nicholas and students and instructors of LRC-696A "Seminar on International Indigenous Education" at the University of Arizona, University of Hawai'i at Hilo, University of Alaska at Fairbanks, Diné College, University of British Columbia and Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuirāngi in Whakatane , New Zealand.

References (1/5) (All illustrations are property of their respective authors, and were reproduced here for illustrative and educational purposes). Bolaños Esquivel, Bernardo; González Campos, Guillermo (2010). Las miradas con que vemos: Análisis de la representación audiovisual de los pueblos indígenas de Costa Rica. Turrialba: Editorial de la Universidad de Costa Rica. Borge, Carlos (2012). Informe Final: Costa Rica: Estado de la Educación en Territorios Indígenas. In: Programa Estado de la Nación (2013). Cuarto Informe Estado de la Educación. San José, Costa Rica: Programa Estado de la Nación. URL: http://www.estadonacion.or.cr/files/biblioteca_virtual/educacion/004/borge_educacion_indigena.pdf. Last accessed: November 17th, 2013. Bozzoli de Wille, María Eugenia (2006). Oí Decir del Usékar. San José, Costa Rica: EUNED. CCSS Caja Costarricense del Seguro Social (2011). Children from Amubri sing the National Anthem in Bribri at the Inauguration of EBAIS/CCSS. November 9th, 2011. URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xofYiFOBlvc. Last accessed: November 23rd, 2013. Constenla Umaña, Adolfo (2011a). Estado de Conservación y Documentación de las Lenguas de América Central Pertenecientes a las Agrupaciones Jicaque, Lenca Misumalpa, Chibchense y Chocó. Filología y Lingüística XXXVII(1):135-139. Constenla Umaña, Adolfo (2011b). La Diversidad Lingüística de Costa Rica: Las Lenguas Indígenas. Filología y Literatura XXXVII(2):93-106. Errington, Joseph (2003). Getting Language Rights: The Rhetorics of Language Endangerment and Loss. American Anthropologist 105(4):723-732. Fishman, Joshua (1991). Reversing language Shift: Theory and Practice of Assistance to Threatened Languages. Clevedon, Multilingual Matters.

References (2/5)

Gilmore, Perry; Smith, David (2005). Seizing Academic Power: Indigenous Subaltern Voices, Metaliteracy, and Counternarratives in Higher Education. In: McCarthy, T. (ed.) (2005). Language, Literacy and Power in Schooling. Lawrence Erlbaum. González Campos, Guillermo; Escobar González, Froilán (2013). Aún Somos Cabécares. San José, Costa Rica: Universidad San Judas Tadeo. González Oviedo, Mauricio (2010). Educación e Interculturalidad. Foro Internacional de Políticas Públicas de Educación para Grupos Étnicos. Colombia: Ministerio de Educación Nacional de Colombia. URL: http://www.mineducacion.gov.co/cvn/1665/articles-232875_archivo_pdf4.pdf. Last accesed: November 16th, 2013. Hedström, Marine; Fernández, Severiano (2011). Sa Ña Yuwá Sa Síwawa Estudiemos Cabécar. Costa Rica: Fundación Naíri. Hill, Jane (2002). "Expert Rhetorics" in Advocacy for Endangered Languages: Who Is Listening, and What Do They Hear? Journal of Linguistic Anthropology 12(2): 119-133. INEC Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censo (2011a). Cuadro C04: Población indígena por pertenencia a un pueblo indígena y habla de alguna. Censo 2011. Website: http://www.inec.go.cr/Web/Home/MenuManager.aspx?id=m77010208. Last accessed: November 16th 2012. INEC Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censo (2011b). Cuadro C06: Población total en territorio indígena, autoidentifiación étnica, lengua indígena, pueblo, territorio indígena. Censo 2011. Website: http://www.inec.go.cr/Web/Home/MenuManager.aspx?id=m77010208. Last accessed: November 16th 2012. INEC Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censo (2013). X Censo Nacional de Población y VI de Vivienda 2011: Territorios Indígenas Principales Indicadores Demográficos y Socioeconómicos. San José, Costa Rica.

References (3/5)

Jara Murillo, Carla; García Segura, Alí (1997). Kó Késka El Lugar del Tiempo. San José, Costa Rica: Editorial de la Universidad de Costa Rica. Jara Murillo, Carla; García Segura, Alí (2003). Diccionario de Mitología Bribri. San José, Costa Rica: Editorial de la Universidad de Costa Rica. Jara Murillo, Carla; García Segura, Alí (2008). Cargos Tradicionales del Pueblo Bribri: Sĩõ`tãmi - Óköm, Awá. San José, Costa Rica: Editorial de la Universidad de Costa Rica. Jara Murillo, Carla; García Segura, Alí (2009). Se' ẽ' yawö Bribri wa Aprendemos la Lengua Bribri. San José, Costa Rica: Editorama S.A. Jiménez Quispe, Luz (2005). Proyectos Educativos Indígenas en la Política Educativa Boliviana. Cochabamba: PROEIB Andes. López, Luis Enrique; Rojas, Carlos (2006). La EIB en América Latina Bajo Examen. Cochabamba: PROEIB Andes. Margery, Enrique (2005). ABC Cabécar. San José, Costa Rica: Ministerio de Educación Pública. MEP Ministerio de Educación Pública (2013). Ley N° 37801-MEP Reforma del Subsistema de Educación Indígena. San Josém, Costa Rica. Molina Conejo, Daniel (2009). Dilema e Identidad del Pueblo Bribri. San José, Costa Rica: Editorial de la Universidad de Costa Rica. Molina, Iván (2002). Costarricense por dicha: Identidad nacional y cambio cultural en Costa Rica durante los siglos XIX y XX. San José, Costa Rica: Editorial de la Universidad de Costa Rica.

References (4/5)

Molina, Iván; Palmer, Steven (2007). The History of Costa Rica. San José, Costa Rica: Editorial de la Universidad de Costa Rica. Moseley, Christopher (ed.) (2010). Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger, 3rd edn. Paris: UNESCO Publishing. URL:http://www.unesco.org/culture/en/endangeredlanguages/atlas. Last accesed: November 16th, 2013. Quirós, Claudia (2004). Hunting Indians. In: Palmer, Steven; Molina, Ivan (eds.) The Costa Rica Reader. North Carolina: Duke University Press. Quirós, Maribelle (Director). (2013, October 17th). UNA Mirada: Retos de la educación indígena en Costa Rica. Costa Rica: SINART. URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkCgRkDZqPo. Last accessed: November 15th, 2013. Rodríguez Arce, Pedro (1991). La Educación en la Costa Rica Colonial. In: Ruiz, Ángel (ed.). 1991. Ciencia y Tecnología en la Construcción del Futuro. San José, Costa Rica: Asociación Costarricense de Historia y Filosofía de la Ciencia. Pgs. 164-179. Rojas Chaves, Carmen (2002). La Enseñanza de las Lenguas Indígenas en Costa Rica. Educare 3(2002): 177-186. Sánchez Avendaño, Carlos (2009). Situación Sociolingüística de las Lenguas Minoritarias de Costa Rica y Censos Nacionales de Población 1927-2000: Vitalidad, Desplazamiento y Autoafiliación Etnolingüística. Filología y Lingüística XXXV(2):233-273. Sánchez Avendaño, Carlos (2013). Lenguas en Peligro en Costa Rica: Vitalidad, Documentación y Descripción. Káñina XXXVII(1):219-250. Smith, Linda (2012). Decolonizing Methodologies. New York: Zed Books. Stocker, Karen (2005). I Won't Stay Indian, I'll Keep Studying: Race, Place and Discrimination in a Costa Rican High School. Boulder: University Press of Colorado.

References (5/5)

UNESCO (2003). Language Vitality and Endangerment. UNESCO Ad Hoc Expert Group on Endangered Languages. International Expert Meeting on UNESCO Programme Safeguarding of Endangered Languages, Paris, 10–12 March 2003. Van der Laat, Carlos; Santa Cruz, Juan Carlos (2006). Niñez y Adolescencia Indígena en Costa Rica: Su Derecho a la Salud y la Educación. San José: Costa Rica: UNICEF. Vargas, Monserrath (October 12th, 2013). 22,5% de indígenas costarricenses usan Internet, según Censo 2011. San José, Costa Rica: Periódico La Nación. URL: http://www.nacion.com/vivir/ciencia/indigenas-ticos-usan-Internet-Censo_0_1371662881.html. Last accessed: November 15th, 2013.