Updated call for participants: Expanding linguistic science by broadening Native American participation

Linguistic Society of America (LSA) Satellite Workshop and Accompanying ActivitiesLSA Annual Meeting, January 4-7, 2018, Salt Lake City, Utah

Project Description

Linguistic science has a long history of research on the Indigenous languages of North America, yet it is rare for such research to be framed around the knowledge systems of those language communities. This project focuses on identifying, valorizing, and disseminating the intellectual tools and cultural values of those communities as a way to improve linguistic science, through a satellite workshop and series of activities held immediately prior to and during the 2018 LSA Annual Meeting. The project’s objective is to improve the field of Linguistics by broadening the participation of Native Americans, here defined very broadly to include American Indian, Alaska Native, First Nations, Inuit, and Métis community members, partly by creating a means for theseindividuals to attend and participate in the LSA Annual Meeting, but more significantly, by developing and promoting strategies to better integrate Native American needs and values about language into linguistic science.The project will have roughly 40 participants, consisting of Native American linguists and other community scholars who are engaged in language work, as well as non-Native linguists whose professional work engages with these communities. The project will consist of an all-day workshop on Thursday, January 4, 2018 in which participants will discuss and delve into project themes, followed by a three-hour symposium on Saturday, January 6, 2018, open to all LSA meeting attendees, featuring Native American scholars speaking about these themes. Outside of project activities, participants are expected to attend other LSA annual meeting events (sessions, plenaries, etc.). The project will conclude with a meeting of workshop participants on Sunday, January 7, 2018 in order to debrief from the LSA meeting and identify future goals.Participants will be selected through a competitive application process. The project will cover the costs of attending the workshop and accompanying activities for the selected individuals, including travel expenses up to $700 (arrangements to be coordinated by project staff), lodging at the LSA host hotel, meals, and meeting registration fees.

Overview of Schedule

Thursday, January 4, 2018

  • All-day workshop (limited to selected participants)

Saturday, January 6, 2018

  • Three-hour symposium (open to all LSA meeting attendees), co-sponsored by the LSA Committee on Endangered Languages and their Preservation (CELP), and the Society for the Study of the Indigenous Languages of the Americas (SSILA), featuring Native American scholars

Sunday, January 7, 2018

  • Debriefing meeting for participants of the Thursday workshop

Project Co-Chairs

  • Wesley Y. Leonard (Miami Tribe of Oklahoma; University of California, Riverside)
  • Megan Lukaniec (Huron-Wendat Nation; University of California, Santa Barbara)

Workshop Coordinator

  • Adrienne Tsikewa (Zuni Pueblo; University of California, Santa Barbara)

Who Should Apply

  • Individuals from Native American communities (as defined above) who are engaged in work related to this project (for example, language speakers, language teachers, language program administrators, professional linguists, etc.) and have an interest in contributing their perspectives to linguistic science.
  • Non-Native professional linguists who are engaged in work related to this project’s themes. (Graduate students who have prior experience working with Indigenous communities and participating in LSA meetings may apply.)

Applicants must be available to attend all project activities. Normally, this will entailtraveling to Salt Lake City, Utah on Wednesday, January 3, 2018 and staying through theafternoon of Sunday, January 7, 2018.

Application Procedures

The application is available via the following link: https://tinyurl.com/NALingApp18To prepare your application, questions can be accessed here: https://tinyurl.com/NALingAppQ18(Applicants who are unable to complete an online application should contact the Workshop Coordinator by phone at (571) 882-2537 to make other arrangements.)Applications are due on Tuesday, October 24, 2017.

Additional Details

Questions? Please contact the workshop coordinator at natives4linguistics18@gmail.com.For an overview of the Linguistic Society of America, please click on the following link: https://www.linguisticsociety.org/aboutFor details about the 2018 Annual Meeting, please go to the following site: https://www.linguisticsociety.org/event/lsa-2018-annual-meetingFor an overview of the Society for the Study of the Indigenous Languages of the Americas (SSILA),please click on the following link: https://ssila.org/about/All project activities will occur at the LSA/SSILA meeting site: The Grand America Hotel in Salt Lake City, Utah.This project is supported by the National Science Foundation Documenting Endangered Languages Program Grant no. 1743743. For more information see https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1743743