Indianz.Com SoundCloud: Vincent Medina at Canonization Mass
A Native language that hasn't been widely used for decades was heard around the world as Pope Francis led a mass in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday afternoon. Vincent Medina, a member of the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe, read a scripture in Chochenyo during the ceremony at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. The California resident has been reviving the language of his ancestors, whom he said were punished for speaking at the Indian missions that were founded by Junipero Serra during the 1700s and 1800s. “I am not in favor of canonization at all but I am doing the reading to honor my ancestors and to give us visibility," Medina told The San Francisco Chronicle, explaining his decision to participate in Serra's mass.
The Chochenyo and English versions of Isaiah 52:7-10. Image from Papal Mass Program / Catholic University of America
Chochenyo was once spoken widely in the Bay Area where Medina resides. It is related to Miwok, another language spoken in northern California. The Muwekma Ohlone Tribe has led efforts to revive Chochenyo by relying on words still known in the community and on research conducted during the 1920s by the defunct Bureau of American Ethnology. Medina started learning the language as an adult. Medina's reading at the mass lasted about a minute.
Related Stories
Day of Mourning observed as Pope Francis
delivers mass in DC (9/23) Two from Muwekma Ohlone Tribe taking part in sainthood mass (9/21)
Documentary about Doctrine of Discovery to be screened in DC (9/11)
Pope Francis to bestow sainthood on founder of Indian missions (9/10)
Al Villanueva: Indian mission founder did not commit genocide (9/7)
Steven Newcomb: The religious basis of Doctrine of Discovery (09/02)
Steven Newcomb: Pope in denial about genocide of our peoples (08/21)
Opinion: Church's apology not enough for some Native people (8/18)
Steven Newcomb: Church set out to dehumanize Indian people (08/12)
Steven Newcomb: Dehumanizing 'Indians' to take their lands (08/06)
Valentin Lopez: Founder of brutal Indian missions was no saint (08/04)
Peter d'Errico: Seeking action after apology from Pope Francis (07/30)
Steven Newcomb: Pope Francis takes a first step with apology (07/14)
Gyasi Ross: Pope Francis issues apology to indigenous peoples (07/13)
Elizabeth Hawksworth: Church owes apology to Native people (06/23)
Steven Newcomb: Colonizers of Indian land now viewed as saints (06/08)
School apologizes for teaching song about brutal Indian mission (05/21)
Opinion: Join 'Long March to Rome' to support indigenous rights (05/04)
California weighs replacement of statue of Indian mission figure (04/29)
Steven Newcomb: Church celebrates agent of Native genocide (4/28)
Peter d'Errico: Pope fails to address genocide of Native peoples (4/27)
Peter d'Errico: A mistake with sainthood for Indian mission figure (02/06)
Steven Newcomb: Pope celebrates church's legacy of genocide (2/4)
RNS: Critics question sainthood for the 'Columbus of California' (2/3)
Sainthood for founder of brutal California Indian mission system (01/22)
Steven Newcomb: Church set to sanctify legacy of domination (1/19)
Join the Conversation
