Deaf families and ASL stewardship. Duration - 3:15

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This morning I was thinking about the term ”stewardship.” A steward is a person who is appointed to be responsible for or manage something of value. It can be a physical job or a metaphorical one. Our stewardship of the environment, for example.

In the ASL community, we often look to Deaf families as stewards of the language, assigning automatic credibility to them. The problem is, sometimes stewards manage their resources according to outside influences. It may not always be in the best interests of what they are responsible for. At places like Gallaudet University, years of dominant hearing oversight has led to a strongly English way of signing. The same is said for Deaf education in general, so for generations of Deaf families, they often pass down a subconscious acceptance of English as being more important than ASL. It comes through in their language.

So that is why I believe ASL stewardship comes through in how one behaves according to ASL culture. Credibility does not depend on pedigree, appearances, or credentials. It depends on how much they have internalized the knowledge of and respect for the language. How much they are a part of the people who speak it. Stewardship means accepting the grave responsibilities of being a native speaker.

What are your thoughts? Feel free to comment below and share!

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