Because of the sovereignty of Native American tribes many people mistakenly believe that Proposition 203 would have no effect on Native American languages and their language revitalization efforts.

Although some Native American students attend private schools on reservation lands -- where State laws do not apply, the vast majority of Native American students attend ARIZONA PUBLIC SCHOOLS  -- where State laws DO APPLY.

Let us now look at what Prop. 203 states in sections 15-752 and 15-751. 

SECTION 15-752. “ALL CHILDREN IN ARIZONA PUBLIC SCHOOLS SHALL BE TAUGHT ENGLISH BY BEING TAUGHT IN ENGLISH AND ALL CHILDREN SHALL BE PLACED IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE CLASSROOMS.” 

SECTION 15-751. “BOOKS AND INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS ARE IN ENGLISH AND ALL READING, WRITING, AND SUBJECT MATTER ARE TAUGHT IN ENGLISH.” 

SECTION 15:751. “NO SUBJECT MATTER SHALL BE TAUGHT IN ANY LANGUAGE OTHER THAN ENGLISH, AND CHILDREN IN THIS PROGRAM LEARN TO READ AND WRITE SOLELY IN ENGLISH.”

No where in Proposition 203 does it say that Native Americans or their languages are excluded from these restrictions. Needless to say, Prop. 203 would have a direct and very disastrous effect on efforts by Native Americans to revitalize their languages.

Prop. 203 would mean a broad restriction of minority language rights -- regardless of ethnicity.  Again it does NOT make any exclusion for the indigenous Native American languages of Arizona. It's important to understand that 203 will outlaw almost all efforts to preserve and/or restore these languages for future generations. 

An English-only mandate puts in jeopardy language revitalization programs for Native Americans just as much as jeopardizing bilingual education programs for Spanish or other Language minority speakers. Prop. 203 is primarily about restricting the rights of Latinos, Native Americans, and all other language minorities, by eliminating parental choice and local control regarding the education of Limited English Proficient (LEP) students.

The above view that Prop 203 would negatively affect Native American efforts to revitalize their language is not just our view. The Native American tribes in Arizona have written very strong resolutions against the English-Only restrictions in Prop 203, presenting this very point.

Copies of three of these resolutions from the Navajo, Salt River Pima-Maricopa, and Tohono O'odham tribes are at: http://www.alec2000.org/navajo2.htm, http://www.alec2000.org/saltriv.htm, and http://www.alec2000.org/tohono.htm

The following is from the Navajo Nation Resolution against the English-Only "English Language Education for Children in Public Schools" initiative (Prop 203) authored by Ron Unz. This Navajo resolution was written before the initiative was assigned the number Prop 203.

The Following are exerpts from the Navajo Resolution.
http://www.alec2000.org/navajo2.htm

---------------------- Exerpt From Navajo Resolution -------------------------

12. The Navajo Nation experienced almost a hundred years of "English Only" education between the late 1860's and the late 1960's. Only with the inclusion of some Navajo language and culture in the schools did more Navajo students begin to succeed. Good Navajo-and-English bilingual education programs can and do work; and 

13. Less than half of Navajo students now enter school speaking any Navajo. The Navajo Education Policies, 10 N.N.C. §101 et. seq., call for instruction in Navajo (and English) at all grades in all Navajo schools. Passage of the AZ Unz initiative would place Arizona Navajo public schools in a difficult position between conflicting Arizona and Navajo Nation laws; and 

14b. The proponents of this initiative ... are intent on placing students in "structured /sheltered English immersion" programs, whether or not their parents want them in such programs; and 

15. The Navajo Nation is much more concerned about the continuing loss of the Navajo language and the relative lack of quality Navajo and English bilingual education programs. These ideological attacks on bilingual education are understood as attacks on the rights of Navajo children and Navajo parents, and on the future of the Navajo language and way of life; 
...

NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT: 

1. The Navajo Nation Council reaffirms the Nation's policies for Navajo language instruction for all students in all grades in Navajo schools. 

2. The Navajo Nation Council reaffirms the Nation's opposition to "English Only" legislation as constituting threats to Navajo children and their parents. 

3. The Navajo Nation Council states its strong opposition to the proposed Arizona "English Language Education for Children in Public Schools" initiative. 

4. The Navajo Nation Council directs the Education Committee and the Division of Diné Education to inform and educate Navajo schools, parents, and voters about the contents and consequences of this proposed initiative. 

CERTIFICATION 

I hereby certify that the foregoing resolution was duly considered by the Navajo Nation Council at a duly called meeting in Window Rock, Navajo Nation, (Arizona), at which a quorum was present and that the same was adopted by a vote of 64 in favor, 0 opposed, and 0 abstained, this 20th day of July, 1999. 
 
Edward T. Begay, Speaker 
Navajo Nation Council

----------------------------- End of Navajo Resolution -----------------

This brings to the forefront, the issue of local control and the classic problems of over centralizing policy to apply to all communities. All communities do not have the same needs as others. To make a blanket policy for all local school districts -- without regard to the local needs of each community -- very often results in negative consequences for many of the local communities that have needs that are different from the mainstream. And of course, the Native American tribes are some of the many communities that would be negatively impacted by Prop 203.

For this reason as well as others, Proposition 203 would be a very bad law and we encourage all voters to vote NO on Proposition 203. This particular issue may not affect your children now. However, if rights can be taken away from one group in our community -- the day will come when another group’s rights will be infringed, and another, etc. 

Prop 203 was designed to strip away the rights from Hispanic parents to select for their own children. Since only 6% of all students in Arizona are in Bilingual Education it is easy to see how the decision of this minority group of parents is easily stripped from them by placing this decision in the hands of voters not in need of bilingual education. In an initiative, a majority can always over-rule and suppress the rights of a minority. Let us be careful not to do this. Let us keep the decision of what educational programs to give the children in the hands of their parents and local school boards. Currently this is the choice parents have. In fact, last year of the 16,000 parents with children in Bilingual Education at TUSD only 66 chose to pull their  children from Bilingual Ed. The rest (99.6%) freely and overwhelmingly chose to keep their children in Bilingual Education. (Dr. Leonard Basurto, Tucson Unified School District, Arizona Daily Star, April 2000) 

In addition, Prop 203 will negatively impact other language minority groups (Chinese, Vietnamese, Russian, etc.) and as we now see, it will negatively affect Native American parents and tribes in their effort to revitalize their languages. 

We must come to understand that, when rights are taken away from one group, rights are taken away from all groups. This is the reason that brought the founding fathers of this nation to create the bill of rights. It was a marvelous principle of balancing the rule of a majority so as not to run roughshod over the needs of a minority or even the individual. 

For these reasons we all need to defeat Prop. 203 and discourage all would-be proposers of ill-conceived propositions that would restrict and strip away the rights of parents and local school boards from making the best decisions for THEIR own children. 

Ron Unz -- the author of Proposition 203 in Arizona -- is not the parent of any children in Arizona, and is not elected or appointed to any of the local school boards in Arizona. He is not an educator and has absolutely no education or expertise in the field of language acquisition. In fact, Ron Unz isn’t even a resident of Arizona. Why then should Unz be deciding policy for any students or parents in Arizona by taking advantage of a non-informed public through the initiative process? The answer is Ron Unz or others like him, should not be.

And so we encourage all voters to protect their own right of local control and the right of all parents to decide for their own children in education, and the rights of Native Americans and their efforts to preserve their languages, by voting NO on Proposition 203.

Bilingual Education Is Beneficial For Native American Children