Ni todos los que son están, ni todos los que están son. El arbol de la vida según: http://www.sil.org/ethnologue/countries/Mexi.html 2001. Ed. 11. 23 x 32 in.

100% Abaca HMP cast, silk tissue with Lithograph one pass on each side of paper. Graphite rubbing and map pins.

In this piece I have listed all of the languages that are spoken in my home country, Mexico, and it’s neighbor, the United States of America, using the style of writing of Guaman Poma de Ayala, the Andean scholar who wrote to King Philip the III of Spain the Nueva coronica i buen gobierno in 1613[1]. The work highlights the richness of our linguistic heritage and diversity.  People are still surprised to see that so many of our ancient indigenous languages are still spoken today both in Mexico and the USA. It is a reality that many of these languages are being subjected to extreme social pressure and the number of speakers are diminishing, but many are growing and strong.  I have used the internet site of the Summer Institute of Linguistics[2] as the source for this information, to emphasize the duality of missionary work, the complicity in its methods for documenting, preserving and permanently affecting the future growth of the language and culture that has been studied. Using numbered map pins I  pin-point the 9 most widely spoken Native languages of the USA and 13 of the most widely spoken Native languages of Mexico, indicating in both cases the number of speakers of each, and 3 “border-free”  languages that are spoken in both of our countries. These pin-pointed languages are set on a sheet of handmade paper formed on a mold from a cut down tree.  The rings in the tree trunk are a metaphor on how they reveal themselves to us only after the tree has been cut, and how we must exercise our responsibility for the preservation of our heritage and that of our neighbor.

1.     Maya. Mayan. 700,000 speakers in Mexico (1990 census). Spoken in Campeche, Yucatan, Quintana Roo. Mexico   

2.     Nahuatl, Huasteca, Western. Uto-Aztecan.  410,000 speakers (1991 SIL) Spoken in Tamazunchale, San Luis Potosi is the center; also in Hidalgo. Mexico.

3.     Nahuatl, Guerrero.  Uto-Aztecan.  300,000 speakers (1991 SIL). Spoken in Balsas River, Guerrero. Mexico.

4.     Mazahua. Oto-Manguean.  350,000 speakers (1993 SIL). Spoken in Western and northwesteern State of Mexico and some in D.F.  Mexico.

5.     Navaho. Na-Dene, Nuclear Na-Dene, Athapaskan-Eyak, athapaskan, Apachean, Navajo-Apache, Western Apache-Navajo. 130,000 speakers (1977 SIL). Spoken in Northeastern Arizona, southeastern Utah, northwestern New Mexico. USA.

6.     Nahuatl, Southeast Puebla. Uto-Aztecan.  130,000 speakers (1991 SIL) Spoken in Southeast puebla, Tehuacan region, Chilac and San Sebastian Zinacatepec area. Mexico.

7.     Nahuatl, Sierra de Puebla.  Uto-Aztecan. 125,000speakers (1983). Spoken in Northeast Puebla. Mexico.

8.     Purepecha.  Language Isolate. 120,000speakers (1990 census). Spoken in Michoacan. Mexico.

9.     Chol, Tumbala. Mayan.  90,000 speakers including 30,000 monolinguals and 10,000 in Sabanilla (1992). North central Chiapas, Tumbala plus 5 towns. Mexico.

10.  Mayo. Uto-Aztecan.  40,000 speakers (1990 census). Spoken in Southern Sonora around Navojoa along the coast (Huatabampo), and a few in Northern Sinaloa. Mexico

11.  Huasteco San Luis Potosi. Mayan. 70,000 speakers (1990 census). Spoken in San Luis Potosi, 12 villages. Mexico.

12.  Nahuatl Central.  Uto-Aztecan.  63,000 or more speakers in the population in 1986) Speakers of all Nahuatl varieties: 1, 376,898 (1980 census). Spoken in the states of Tlaxcala and Puebla. Mexico.

13.  Huasteco Veracruz. 50,000 speakers (1990 census). Spoken in Northern Veracruz, 60 villages. Mexico.

14.  Chol, Tila.  Mayan.  35,000 to 40,000 speakers including 13,000 monolinguals (1990 census). Spoken in Chiapas, Tila area., Vicente Guerrero, Chioalito, Limar.  Mexico.

15.  Cree, Western.  Algic, Algonquian, Algonquian Proper, Cree.  35,000 total or more speakers (1982 SIL). Spoken in North central Montana, USA. Majority in Canada.

16.  Cherokee.  Iroquian, Southern Iroquian, Cherokee. 22,500 speakers (1986 Durbin Feeling Cherokee Nation, OK). Spoken in Eastern and northeastern Oklahoma and Cherokee Reservation, Great Smokey Mts., western North Carolina. USA.

17.  Choctaw-Chickasaw. Muskohegean, Western.  12,000 speakers (1987 SIL). Spoken principally in southeastern Oklahoma (Choctaw and Chickasaw) and east central Mississippi (Choctaw).  Some Choctaw in Louisiana.  USA.

18.  Apache, Western. Na-Dene, Nuclear Na-Dene, Athapaskan-Eyak, Athapaskan-Eyak, Athapaskan, Apachean, Navajo-Apache, Western Apache-Navajo. 11,000 speakers (1977 SIL) Spoken in East central Arizona, several reservations. USA.

19.  Muskogee.  Muskogean, Eastern. 10,000 speakers (1977 SIL). Spoken in Creek and Seminole of east central Oklahoma, Creek of southern Alabama, Seminole of Brghton Reservation, Florida. USA.

20.  Blackfoot.  Algic, Algonquian.  9,000 speakers (1977 SIL). Spoken in Blackfeet Reservation, Montana, USA and Canada.

21.  Cora.  Uto-Aztecan. 8,000 speakers (1993 SIL). Spoken in North central Nayarit, Mexico.  Several hundred speakers of Jesus Maria dialect in the agricultural valleys of western Colorado, USA.

22.  Ojibwa, Eastern. Algic, Algonquian,  Algonquian Proper, Ojibwa.  8,000 speakers (1977 SIL). Spoken in Ottawa and Chippewa in Michigan. Canada and USA.

23.  Yupik, Central.  Eskimo-Aleut, Eskimo, Yupik, Alaskan.  600 speakers (1990 L.D. Kaplan). Spoken in Alaska Peninsula, Kodiak Island, Alaskan coast from Cook Inlet to Prince William Sound. USA.

24.  Kikapoo.  Algic, Algonquian, Algonquian Proper.  300 speakers in Mexico (1992 SIL); 539 in USA including 6 monolinguals (1990 census).  Spoken in Coahuila, Mexico and Northeastern Kansas, central Oklahoma, USA.

25.  Kumiai. Hokan.  220 speakers in Mexico (1991 Garza and Lastra); 97 in the USA (1990 census).  Spoken in Baja California, Rancho Neji, in the moountains southeast of Tecate, 60 kms. east of Ensenada, in La Huerta de Esselen-Yuman, Yuman, Delta-Californian. Mexico and USA.

[1]  In which he documents the history of his people and reports on the injustices being committed to the people of Peru by both the church and government, and expresses his hopes for a better government in the colonial world. 

2  The Summer Institute of Linguistics is a Christian organization based in the United States.  Their primary work is to translate the New Testament of the King James version of the Bible into all of the languages spoken on earth.