Curtis Chávez: Native Learning Meets Maria Montessori!

What happens when the ancient traditions of Native America encounter the modern traditions of Europe? One version of that story is the one we all know: the arrival of a certain Italian “explorer” that led to the violent colonization of the continent by subsequent waves of invaders from other European countries. Another version looks like this: Native values, such as communal care and cohesion, organic and self directed learning, and a symbiotic relationship with the natural world, meet and meld seamlessly with the pedagogical theories and practices of a visionary Italian educator of the 20th Century. Yes, that would be Maria Montessori. It’s this latter version of the “encounter” that we address in this episode. One place where these two traditions intersect is in Cóchiti Pueblo, New Mexico, one of eighteen Native communities along the Río Grande and one of seven where the traditional language is Keres. Our guest, Dr. Curtis Chávez, is a native of Cóchiti and the CEO of the Keres Children’s Learning Center (KCLC), a Montessori school at the Pueblo where Keres instead of English is the primary instructional language. In one sense, it’s fitting and proper that he lead the school. If such a school had existed when he was young, Keres instead of English might have been his first language. He reports that, during his childhood, many elders and parents in the community were ashamed of speaking Keres and teaching it to their children. Dr. Chávez eventually learned Keres as a second language and is now working tirelessly on many fronts to assure that more children at Cóchiti Pueblo acquire Keres as their first language. We also address the importance of context when discussing language loss and language shift in Native communities.