Mohawk Dictionary

greater language equality and ensuring sustainable development, peace and democracy. For individuals, families, and societies alike, it is an instrument of empowerment to improve one’s health, one’s heritage, and one’s relationship with the world. Literacy is about more than reading and writing – it is about how we communicate in society. It is about social practices and relationships, about knowledge, language and culture. Literacy – the use of written communication – finds its place in our lives alongside other ways of communicating. Indeed, literacy itself takes many forms: on paper, on the computer screen, on TV, on posters and signs. Those who use literacy take it for granted – but those who cannot use it are excluded from much communication in today’s world. Indeed, it is the excluded who can best appreciate the notion of “literacy as freedom.”

(UNESCO statement for the United Nations Literacy Decade, 2003-2012)
The uses of literacy for the exchange of knowledge are constantly evolving (“languages are in a constant state of change.” John Beatty Mohawk Morphology 1974), along with advances in technology. From the Internet to text messaging, the ever-wider availability of communication makes for greater social and political participation. A literate community is a dynamic community, one that exchanges ideas and engages in debate. Illiteracy, however, is an obstacle to a better quality of life, and can even breed exclusion and violence.