December 15th

Opening Ceremonies

When my friend and I arrived at the camp site, we noticed the grandstand and the many temporary shelters which were constructed for this occasion. A little further down, at the bottom of the valley, was a newly constructed foot bridge, with leaves and bush rope covering the path. The bridge was a tangible symbol of the theme for this camp: A Bridge to a Satisfied Life. The afternoon that we arrived, they decided to open the camp by clearing the bridge and having people walk through as a way to symbolize that the camp was open. 

Part of the symbolism of the bridge was to represent the language group moving from non-use of their language to a revitalization of the language. They insisted that my colleague and I participate in walking across the bridge to represent our part in helping this revitalization to happen. And so, I had a dilemma.
Dilemma: I firmly believe that if they are going to “save” their language, they are ultimately responsible and should be the ones doing the work of re-introducing the use of their language in everyday life situations. However, if we were to cut the ribbon and walk across the bridge, we would essentially be symbolizing our participation and responsibility for their language being “saved”. So what did I do? I stayed back and took pictures!!!