Rethinking Native American Language Revitalization

Purpose Many academic libraries use digital humanities projects to disseminate unique materials in their collections; during project planning, librarians will consider platforms, scanning rates and project sustainability. Rarely, though, will academic librarians consider how members from the communities that created the materials can contribute to digitization projects. The purpose of this study is to explain how collaboration with Zuni Pueblo (a Native American tribe in the southwest) community members improved a digital humanities project to disseminate Zuni language learning materials. Design/methodology/approach Methodologically relying on critical making, which involved community member feedback throughout the process, the Zuni Language Materials Collection will provide digital access to 35 language learning items. Findings The authors argue that collaboration with members of the community of creation dramatically improved item description, collection discoverability and collection interactivity. This study historicizes CONTENTdm and describes how the team modified this content management system to meet user needs. This project produced a prototype digital collection, collaboratively authored metadata and an interactive portal that invites users to engage with the collection. Practical implications Libraries continue to struggle to reach and reflect their diverse users. This study describes a process that others may use and modify to engage nearby Native American communities. Originality/value This piece shares a unique strategy of partnering with Native American community members on all aspects of digital humanities project development and design. This case study attempts to fill a gap in the literature as the first study to describe a digitization process using CONTENTdm with a Native American community.

Download Full-text

The Athabaskan Languages: Perspectives on a Native American Language Family. Theodore B. Fernald , Paul Platero

International Journal of American Linguistics ◽

10.1086/466465 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 67 (3) ◽

pp. 357-359

Author(s):

Siri G. Tuttle

Keyword(s):

Native American ◽

Language Family ◽

Native American Language

Download Full-text

Designing Indigenous Language Revitalization

Harvard Educational Review ◽

10.17763/haer.82.3.q8117w861241871j ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 82 (3) ◽

pp. 381-402 ◽

Cited By ~ 27

Author(s):

Mary Hermes ◽

Megan Bang ◽

Ananda Marin

Keyword(s):

Native American ◽

Knowledge Production ◽

Design Research ◽

Language Revitalization ◽

Indigenous Languages ◽

Indigenous Language ◽

Culturally Relevant Curriculum ◽

Community Based Research ◽

Indigenous Language Revitalization

Endangered Indigenous languages have received little attention within the American educational research community. However, within Native American communities, language revitalization is pushing education beyond former iterations of culturally relevant curriculum and has the potential to radically alter how we understand culture and language in education. Situated within this gap, Mary Hermes, Megan Bang, and Ananda Marin consider the role of education for Indigenous languages and frame specific questions of Ojibwe revitalization as a part of the wider understanding of the context of community, language, and Indigenous knowledge production. Through a retrospective analysis of an interactive multimedia materials project, the authors present ways in which design research, retooled to fit the need of communities, may inform language revitalization efforts and assist with the evolution of community-based research design. Broadly aimed at educators, the praxis described in this article draws on community collaboration, knowledge production, and the evolution of a design within Indigenous language revitalization.

Download Full-text