NALP to Host Native Language Instructors during UN Global Colloquium of University Presidents

March 28, 2016

In conjunction with the United Nations Global Colloquium of University Presidents, the Native American Language Project at Yale (NALP) will host four Native American language instructors on campus during the week of April 10-14. In addition to meeting with their respective Native American students, each language instructor will join a NALP panel on Monday, April 11, as well as participate in various Colloquium events, including the Colloquium Keynote Address by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. This is the eighth meeting of the UNGCUP, and this year’s Colloquium examines the theme of the “preservation of cultural heritages.”

Monday’s NALP session is entitled “Native American Language Preservation: Promoting the Preservation of North America’s Indigenous Languages.” It will be moderated by YGSNA Member Professor Claire Bowern (Department of Linguistics, Yale University) and will foreground the language preservation efforts of four tribal communities. In particular, this panel will discuss the language instructors’ current work with Yale students in Cherokee, Choctaw, Mohawk and Salish. The panelists will discuss their background and experience in the preservation and promotion of their language, as well as the larger social, cultural and institutional challenges of preserving Native American languages generally. The panel will also investigate how academic institutions can best work with instructors and communities in preserving and promoting languages. The panelists include: Joshua Brown, Salish and Aaniiih/Nakoda Nations (Montana); Nicholas Tecumseh Charleston, Chahta Nation (Oklahoma); Tekahonwen:sere (Melvin)  Diabo, Kahnawake Mohawk Nation (Quebec); and Bobbie Gail Smith, Cherokee Nation (Oklahoma). The Panel Begins at 5pm on April 11th in LC 317, 63 High Street.  

 

More Info on the UN Colloquium