KAHNEWAKE, Canada, October 10, 2002 — Harvey Gabriel will never forget accidentally giving his teacher the strap. He had learnt only Mohawk in his Kanesatake home northwest of Montreal but at school on the territory only English was permitted - even at recess. The young boy had been caught uttering Mohawk. As the teacher whipped the dreaded strap down, Harvey instinctively pulled his hands back and she lashed her own knees instead.
Eventually almost a whole generation of native people lost their mother tongue with such strict English-only instruction.
Harvey, now 62, works as a tool-and-die specialist in Montreal but he still cherishes his Mohawk language. After a full day's work, he returns to Kanesatake, and after supper, devotes two or three hours a day, seven days a week, to Bible translation. He has drafted into Mohawk: Genesis, Job, Jonah, Daniel, Romans, Ephesians, Philippians, James, The Epistles of John, Revelation and Acts.
Harvey is continuing in the footsteps of his great-grandfather Sose Onasakenrat, also known as Joseph Swan, who was a Mohawk Bible translator and preacher. Harvey is a tireless translator but he is not alone.
Josie and Dorris
Photo: Sue Careless
The "sisterhood" Josie Horne, Dorris Montour and Charlotte Provencher, former school teachers meet every Monday to compare notes wile working on Mohawk scriptures.
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When she started school in 1924, Josie Horne knew only two English words, "yes" and "no." Like Harvey, she heard only Mohawk at home. Bewildered by her English-speaking teacher, Josie still went on to become a teacher herself, fluent in Mohawk and English. Now 85, she has retired from 14 years in the classroom but volunteers as a noted translator.
Josie is part of what is affectionately called "the sisterhood." Dorris Montour, 82, and Charlotte Provencher, 81, were, like Josie, school teachers at Kahnawake, Dorris for 22 years, and Charlotte for over 40 years. They are related not by ties of blood or marriage, but by their strong Christian faith and Mohawk culture.
| "Many women their age are playing canasta or bingo. Instead, the three are busy translating their beloved Bible into Mohawk." |
Many women their age are playing canasta or bingo. Instead, the three are busy translating their beloved Bible into Mohawk. Working from several English versions, they carefully draft in longhand a Mohawk translation. After working independently all week, they gather every Monday to compare notes. They have finished Ruth and are proof-reading Proverbs and Esther. They are also translating a first draft of Mark.
"It means a great deal more after you've translated it," Dorris said. The retired vice-principal says she prays in Mohawk "when the Spirit moves me." Dorris' mother, Louise Stalk Diabo, had translated the Gospel of Luke many years ago with Dr. David Cory of Brooklyn, New York and occasionally Dorris consults her mother's translation.
Charlotte: The Romantic
Charlotte Provencher, the youngest of the sisterhood, is a romantic. But instead of reading Harlequin novels, she is preoccupied with the romantic heroines of the Bible. Her favourites are Esther and Ruth. She has read their stories over and over again, in several English versions. And in graceful longhand, she is painstakingly translating their narratives into Mohawk.
As a small child, Charlotte heard only Mohawk in her Kahnawake home near Montreal. At school she was completely bewildered by the English-speaking nun who taught her. Yet Charlotte went on to become a teacher herself, fluent in Mohawk and English. Charlotte may be a romantic but she has said of her translation work, "I will give up everything else, before I give up this."
| "It's a laudable effort, an awesome challenge as they race against the clock. With the death of every Mohawk speaker, something of their highly oral culture disappears.." |
Father Louis Cyr, S.J., of St Francis Xavier, Kahnawake, admires their work. "It's a laudable effort, an awesome challenge as they race against the clock. With the death of every Mohawk speaker, something of their highly oral culture disappears. They inherited old translations from the 19th century which are antiquated and no longer spoken." The priest concluded, "It's a long haul and I can only say 'Bravo!'"
Mavis: Oka crisis negotiator
Mavis Etienne, a negotiator during the 1990 Oka crisis, is a prayer warrior. She discovered the impact of her native language, Mohawk, when she began to use it in prayer.
"Because my language is so descriptive, it expresses the deep feelings from my heart. Recently when I was praying in Mohawk, I just broke down and cried, sobbing, as I confessed to God and spoke to him out of the depth of my heart."
As a child, Mavis spoke only Mohawk in her Kanesatake (Oka) home, but was restricted to English at school. Today she is bilingual in Mohawk and English.
As clinical supervisor at Onen'to:Kon Treatment Services, Mavis works daily with people who have been devastated by the residential school system. Yet she is not discouraged. "The main way God reaches the needy is to use us - our arms and our voices to give consolation and comfort - and we need to feed the poor before we give the bread of life."
As project coordinator for the Mohawk Bible Translation team, Mavis also tries to provide her people with the bread of life.
Gospel Radio show exposed the need for Mohawk Scriptures
The translation project all began when Mavis Etienne wanted to read Mohawk Scriptures on her weekly radio Mohawk Gospel Program. She was frustrated, however, with only having available the four gospels in Mohawk. As she searched further she discovered that between 1787 and 1839, all of the New Testament had been translated into Mohawk - except 2 Corinthians. Only Isaiah had been translated from the Old Testament.
The original goal of the team was simply to translate the missing epistle, which they did. But Mohawk, like any living language, constantly changes. The team realized there was a desperate need for a completely modern Mohawk Bible. Their work had only just begun.
Back-translations
Once a month the sisterhood and Harvey meet with Mavis and other native speakers to determine if their translations are accurate, clear and natural. Mavis, along with her brother, Rodger Cree, and their sister, Hilda Garcia, then translate the Mohawk back into English (called a back-translation).
These back-translations are then checked against the original Hebrew and Greek by Tim Stime, the project facilitator and a former Wycliffe Bible translator, and Hart Wiens, Director of Scripture Translations for the Canadian Bible Society, along with Ruth Spielmann, a CBS consultant. The three provide the native translators with linguistic and theological support.
Meaning rather than word-for-word translation is crucial. The Mohawk phrase for "in the flesh" meaning "in human form" had been badly translated as "meat" in the nineteenth century translations so a new phrase was needed.
| "Meanings of words can vary among the six Mohawk communities. It took twenty minutes to agree on the Mohawk word for 'the strongest authority,' raoianerenserasatste." |
While the translators move swiftly through the draft stage, the community and consultant checking process is time-consuming. Meanings of words can vary among the six Mohawk communities. It took twenty minutes to agree on the Mohawk word for "the strongest authority," raoianerenserasatste.
Later, the sisterhood thought Harvey's Kanesatake word for "to be executed" would on Kahnawake mean "to be beaten to within a hair's breath of life" so they searched for another word.
When consensus has been reached on all the changes, another volunteer, Celine Bastien Genest transcribes the final version into computer format.
Interdenominational Project
The sisterhood, Mavis and Harvey have studied at The Summer Institute of Linguistics in Arizona where other North American indigenous translators were amazed at the enormous strides the Mohawk project had taken.
Catholics and Protestants work together on the current translation team. As a lay preacher at Kanesatake Untied Church, Harvey preaches, prays and reads Scripture in Mohawk. Josie and Dorris worship in Mohawk and English at Kanawake United Church while Charlotte's Kanawake Catholic Church sings in Mohawk. Mavis worships at Oka Iroquois Pentecostal Church where she sings, prays and has given testimonies in Mohawk. The team hopes to provide each of their congregations with contemporary Mohawk Scriptures.
Funding also comes from across the denominational spectrum. The United Church of Canada, the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Anglican Church of Canada have all joined The Canadian Bible Society in making significant donations to the project.
The next generation
| "The Mohawk population today represents about 20,000 people in North America. While only about 10% speak Mohawk, this number is growing with aggressive language maintenance programs." |
The Mohawk population today represents about 20,000 people in North America. While only about 10% speak Mohawk, this number is growing with aggressive language maintenance programs.
For many Mohawk children today, the situation has completely reversed from when the translators attended school. Today's Mohawk students hear only English at home with their parents yet receive Mohawk immersion for their first four grades. Afterwards, if they wish, they can continue in a bilingual program right through high school.
Josie, Dorris, Charlotte, Harvey and Mavis are all third and fourth generation Christians, who will bequeath a tremendous spiritual and cultural legacy to the next generation. The Mohawk translation team hopes to place modern Mohawk Scriptures in their hands, trusting God will place it in their hearts.
Source: Sue Careless, Bible Network News
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