Historic Global Language Conference Issues Urgent Plea to Save Indigenous Languages Before They Disappear

First annual Kevin Locke Award is presented to Council of Indigenous Language Organizations (CILO) in memory of the world-renowned Indigenous language preservation advocate, Native American hoop dancer, and recording artist.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind., Oct. 17, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Indigenous communities from around the world made history this week at the International Conference on Indigenous Language Documentation, Education, and Revitalization (ICILDER). The conference, which took place in Bloomington, Indiana, was held to educate stakeholders and urge immediate action to save Indigenous languages from extinction.

The annual Kevin Locke Award was presented to Roanne Hill from the Crow Tribe, who accepted the award on behalf of Council of Indigenous Language Organizations. Roanne is a Crow Language Consortium board member and is a teacher at St. Labre in Montana.

Set against the backdrop of the United Nations' Decade of Indigenous Languages, the conference brought together more than 50 Indigenous language advocates to address the language extinction crisis, which many are still unaware of. It was hosted by the Council of Indigenous Language Organizations (CILO) and The Language Conservancy (TLC), the leading nonprofit committed to preserving threatened Indigenous languages. Its credo is that every single language on the planet has the right to exist and be spoken.

"The conference was a great success. Bringing together language revitalization champions from around the world and sharing best practices for making language preservation and maintenance a priority ? and scalable ? collaborations were formed during the event that are sure to impact this vital work. Without it, cultures and histories will be lost forever," said Wil Meya, CEO of The Language Conservancy.

World-renowned scholars, educators, and linguists shared their experiences, insights, and methods to chart a path forward for documenting and keeping alive Indigenous languages throughout North America and the world. Highlights included:

• A real-time demonstration of the fastest technique ever used to create Indigenous language dictionaries quickly, accurately, and efficiently, called "Rapid Word Collection."
• Shared best practices on using AI and other technologies for language documentation and maintenance, including the most advanced e-learning language platforms.
• Language revitalization success stories including Cowlitz, which was practically eradicated but made a tremendous comeback due to the efforts of ICILDER organizers.
• The presentation of the first ever Kevin Locke Award, named in memory of the Lakota language champion, educator, Native hoop dancer, and Northern Plains flute player/recording artist who advocated for culture, language, music, and dancing.
• Performances/presentations of Indigenous language dance and music.
• Numerous linguist presentations on linguistic histories and successes, citing tribal successes.

About?The?Language?Conservancy???

The Language Conservancy (TLC) is a nonprofit dedicated to Indigenous language revitalization. Over the past 20 years, TLC has partnered with Indigenous communities around the world to create an unmatched body of language?learning materials.?The nonprofit organization has?published?more than 300 language learning and teaching materials including dictionaries, e-learning platforms, apps, textbooks, and children's picture books in a wide range of formats in 50 different Indigenous languages for use by Indigenous communities?throughout the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and Australia. For more information visit TLC.

Media Contact

Terese Kelly Greer, The Language Conservancy (TLC), 9737222482, [email protected], https://languageconservancy.org/

SOURCE The Language Conservancy (TLC)