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Press Release
Aug. 3, 2006
SHI AWARDED GRANT TO DOCUMENT NATIVE LANGUAGES
Sealaska Heritage Institute (SHI) has received a three-year grant to
document the Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian languages.
The $240,000 grant from the National Science Foundation will allow the
institute to record, transcribe, translate and publish 90 hours of
narratives and conversations in the three indigenous languages of
Southeast Alaska (30 hours of each language).
Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian are among the most endangered languages in
the world. Most fluent speakers are elderly and the institute has
sponsored numerous programs to teach the languages to young people
before the fluent speakers pass away. SHI has produced some semi-fluent
speakers who are now teaching the languages to others.
One of the goals of the project is to give students a lasting
opportunity to hear the languages spoken fluently by Native speakers in
a conversational context, rather than having to solely rely on
instructional lessons and recordings.
“It is of critical importance that these languages be documented in
conversational contexts for other reasons besides language
revitalization. These recording will provide insights to the social
realities of Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian when they are expressed in
their Native languages and which unfortunately have been historically
excluded from schools. Additionally, they provide a record for
linguists to study the structural or grammatical features of these
languages which can then contribute to the development of curriculum
material for language restoration” said SHI President Rosita Worl,
noting the materials will be an additional benefit to linguists
currently studying Tlingit.
Tlingit, Northern Haida, and Tsimshian are spoken in Southeast Alaska
and to some degree adjacent portions of Canada. Research indicates that
Tlingit is spoken by approximately 500 of the roughly 10,000 Tlingit
people in Alaska (although SHI surveys suggest that this estimate is
generous). Northern Haida has four known fluent speakers in Alaska,
with perhaps another 10 in British Columbia. Tsimshian has an estimated
20-25 fluent speakers in Alaska, with perhaps 500 more in Canada.
SHI a Native nonprofit established in 1981 to administer educational and
cultural programs for Sealaska, a regional Native corporation formed
under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. The institute’s mission
is to perpetuate and enhance Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian cultures.
Language revitalization is a priority of SHI.
CONTACT: Dr. Rosita Worl, SHI president, 463-4844; Dr. Jordan Lachler,
SHI Haida linguist, 247-9223