PHOENIX (AP) — The boxes had been tucked away in storage for about 20 years when the government found Curtis Cook on the Internet.
In the boxes sat years of Cook's life and work, documents that Cook created with the help of seven Zuni elders. They were the origin of the written Zuni language.
Now, the Library of Congress wanted them.
Creating a Zuni alphabet was a mission that Cook took on alone, right after he finished some graduate linguistic studies in the mid-1960s.
His first goal had been to create a Zuni version of the Bible, but he quickly realized the language didn't have a written form. So, he dedicated 15 years to the Zuni people, who live predominantly in New Mexico and in Arizona, east of Flagstaff.
Without Cook's efforts, it's likely that the Zuni language would have perished as the elders passed away and young Zunis forgot the tongue. Forgetting the language would have forever cut a tie between the generations of Zunis.
"I became concerned that many of their old stories and the richness of their history would be lost to posterity as the elders, who were the storytellers, began to die off," Cook said. The elders were all older than 100 when Cook began his work.
The Library of Congress' intention is to preserve the work and eventually make the traditional Zuni stories more widely available.
Cook's work has allowed the Zunis to teach their written language to children from kindergarten through high school on the reservation. The Zuni words are even on street signs, which Cook proudly notes are spelled correctly.
By the end of this year, "The Curtis Cook Collection" is expected to be inducted into the Library of Congress' American Folklife Center.
During his time on the reservation, Cook also approached the Zuni Tribal Council and suggested that some of the tribe's stories should be recorded and preserved. The council agreed and eventually about 300 reel-to-reel tapes were created with Zuni oral histories, folk tales and religious teachers.
"The Curtis Cook Collection" will include those tapes, transcriptions, learning guides and some Zuni publications.
Cook, 67, is the associate state director of community outreach for AARP Arizona. Previously, he was director of the National Indian Council on Aging.
When Cook talks about his time with the Zuni, known as "a friendly people," his eyes light up and seem to dance with respect and excitement.
In telling traditional Zuni stories, he infuses rhythmic Zuni words with English ones. To the English-speaking ear, the Zuni language seems breathy and includes many pauses that translate into meaning.
On the reservation, Cook's constant chattering and repetition of Zuni words and phrases earned him the names "the Mockingbird" and later, "the Locust" among the Zuni Pueblo, now numbering 10,000 people.
Language experts say there likely still are pockets of the world where some languages exist only orally.
Cook's intent was to create a Zuni version of the Bible. Other oral traditions have morphed into written languages in a similar missionary fashion, experts say.
For many, the preservation of language in a written form allows them to stay connected with their history and roots.
"Oral tradition keeps certain kinds of intergenerational contacts," said Guha Shankar, folklife specialist with the American Folklife Center. "It keeps memories alive."
Without a written documentation, the Zuni oral tradition could have been lost, Shankar said.
Cook's work piqued the Library of Congress' interest because he collaborated directly with native speakers in the pueblo, Shankar said.
Cook meticulously made language records, including transcribing traditional stories passed down through the generations. He used the International Phonetic Alphabet, a commonly accepted series of symbols among linguists, to capture the Zuni language.
"I was concerned that all of their history would be lost forever," Cook said. "My belief is when people get their language in writing it launches a whole new era. We take notes so we can remember."