Idaho State University to host Symposium on Indigenous Languages April 10-12

Idaho State University will host the "Symposium on Indigenous Languages: Retention and Revitalization" April 10-12 in the Rendezvous Complex Suites A-C.

"We're very excited about hosting this symposium, exploring various issues and strategies for supporting indigenous languages," said Beverly Klug, ISU education professor and a symposium organizer. "We have experts from throughout the West coming to present at this event."

The symposium schedule includes the following presentations:

• Tuesday, April 10, 9 a.m. – noon and 1:30-4 p.m., speakers include Christine Sims, Pueblo of Acoma, "Importance of Indigenous Languages Revival and Retention"; 7 p.m., film on Wampanoag language efforts followed by discussion.

• Wednesday, April 11, 9 a.m. – noon, speaker Bryan Hudson, Ely Shoshoni, "Work with Shoshoni Youth at the University of Utah's Center for American Indian Languages"; noon luncheon (reservations needed by calling 282-3808 or e-mailing klugbeve@isu.edu), speaker, Funston Whiteman, "Cheyenne Arapaho: Language Loss and Effects on Culture"; 1:30 – 4 p.m., Funston Whiteman, "Use of Indigenous Languages in Native History Books"; 7 p.m., film on Hawaiian language revitalization efforts followed by discussion.

• Thursday, April 12, 9 a.m. – noon, Michael Fillerup, supervisor, English as a Second Language in Navajo Immersion Schools, Flagstaff, Ariz., will discuss successful bilingual projects in both the morning and afternoon sessions); 1:30 p.m., children from Lillian Valley Elementary School in Blackfoot/Fort Hall will share their Native culture with audiences followed by reading of a Shoshoni story by Drusilla Gould; 7 p.m., Panel discussion by members of the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes concerning their language retention and revitalization efforts.

The symposium supported in part by a grant from the Idaho Humanities Council, a State-based Program of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Visit www.idahohumanities.org for more information on the Idaho Humanities Council.

Other sponsors include the ISU College of Education, ISU College of Arts and Letters and the ISU Cultural Affairs Council.

Additional members of the symposium committee are Christopher Loether, ISU anthropology professor; Drusilla Gould, Shoshone-Bannock Tribal Member and senior lecturer, ISU Department of Anthropology; and Sherice Gould, Language and Cultural Preservation Department Manager, Shoshone-Bannock Tribes.

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