{"id":222,"date":"2024-02-18T16:05:53","date_gmt":"2024-02-18T16:05:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gildedgreen.com\/indigital\/?page_id=222"},"modified":"2025-10-24T18:15:44","modified_gmt":"2025-10-24T18:15:44","slug":"living-language","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/gildedgreen.com\/indigital\/living-language\/","title":{"rendered":"Living Language"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This module introduces a variety of artists who explore the role of language in contemporary Indigenous art, culture, and identity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Language revitalization plays a key role in the cultural revitalization work of several contemporary Indigenous communities. At Miami University in Oxford, Ohio (where this resource was authored), the Myaamia Center (the research and teaching arm of Miami Tribe of Oklahoma) has its roots in the language revitalization work of Daryl Baldwin<\/a>. The Center’s introduction of Myaamia language and cultural education into the curriculum for Myaamia students at Miami University appear to be a key factor in Myaamia students’ academic success when, statistically, Indigenous students’ needs are underserved by universities:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Data and infographic developed by the Myaamia Center Office of Assessment and Evaluation<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Reading, Listening, and Learning<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Choose one reading and one ‘listening’<\/strong> from the options below to explore. Each conveys a different perspective on language, its relevance to contemporary Indigenous individuals and communities, and how digital technologies play a part in language use, learning, and preservation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Myaamia Center. (2022, March 29). Awakening a Sleeping Language [Audio podcast episode]. In Neepwaantiinki: Stories from Myaamia Revitalization<\/em>.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Myaamia Center, affiliated with the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma and Miami University in Oxford, OH, uses a variety of digital media for cultural preservation and revitalization efforts, including language revitalization. In this podcast episode, Myaamia Center scholars Kara Strass, Kristina Fox, and George Ironstrack discuss how Myaamiaataweenki<\/em> (Miami language) became dormant and then tell the story of the revitalization of the language from documentation over the past thirty years. They also discuss how language revitalization served as a center and starting point for the Myaamia Center’s educational and broader cultural revitalization efforts, and how digital technologies have participated in the language revitalization process.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Cala, C., Lopez, X., Parker, B. A., Donnella, L., Stein, C., Demby, G., Kung, J., Mortada, D., Lizarraga, L., & Williams, V. (Hosts). (2024, March 27). In Lakota Nation, people are asking: Who does a language belong to? [Audio podcast episode]. In Code Switch<\/em>. NPR.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this podcast episode, the hosts unpack the complex story of Lakota language revitalization, and how different settler legal frameworks, academic practices, and teaching technologies have played a part. At the center of the story is tension between the centralized Lakota Language Conservancy project (founded by an Austrian anthropologist and Czech linguist) and several Lakota language speakers and teachers.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Running Wolf, C. & Arista, N. (2020). Indigenous protocols in action. In J. E. Lewis (Ed.), Indigenous Protocol and Artificial Intelligence<\/em>.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this short write-up, researchers Caroline Running Wolf (citizen of the Aps\u00e1alooke (Crow) Nation) and Dr. Noelani Arista (Kanaka Maoli) summarize their collaborative process with a team of Indigenous linguists and technologists to develop a software tool for Indigenous language revitalization. They discuss exploring the use of AI systems as part of the tool, and some of the ways other Indigenous language projects have leveraged AI.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Strass, K. (2021, June 2). What is the National Breath of Life Institute for Indigenous Languages? Aacimotaatiiyankwi<\/em>.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this blog post, Myaamia scholar, artist, and Director of Miami Tribe Relations for the Myaamia Center Kara Strass discusses the ILDA software developed by the Myaamia Center to facilitate language preservation and teaching (including the development of an online Myaamiaataweenki dictionary<\/a>). She also discusses how the software has been made available to other Indigenous communities, and the role digital tools can play in language preservation and revitalization.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Reflect After Reading<\/h2>\n\n\n\n