October 25, 2018
The United Nations General Assembly has proclaimed 2019 as the Year of Indigenous Languages, and the area studies centers at the International Institute will present a joint conference on the resilience and revitalization of indigenous languages. Policy recommendations resulting from the conference will be reported to the United Nations Permanent Forum. This conference will serve to strengthen ties between the University of Michigan and the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII).
This event is funded in part by Title VI NRC grants from the U.S. Department of Education.
This event is free and open to the public. No registration is needed.
Conference Schedule
8:30 - 9:00 am
Breakfast
9:00 - 9:30 am
Welcome by Joshua Cole (U-M) and Opening Remarks by Sally Thomason (U-M)
9:30 - 11:00 am
Panel I: The Process of Endangerment
Gulnisa Nazarova (Indiana University)
Seeking Hope in the Unknown: Unintended Consequences of Cross-Border Uyghur Migration from China to Soviet Central Asia
Pavel Sulyandziga (United Nations Working Group on Business and Human Rights)
Languages of Siberia indigenous peoples: is it possible to preserve?
11:00am - 12:30 pm
Panel II: Colonial Legacies
Martín Vega Olmedo (Scripps College)
False Promises and the Perseverance of Mexico’s Indigenous Languages: the Case of Nahuatl
Bruce Mannheim (University of Michigan)
Indigenous Languages and Indigenous Speakers: The Colonial Emergence of a Quechua Overlay and Why It Matters Today
1:30 - 3:30 pm
Panel III: Languages Made Visible
G.N. Devy (Bhasha Research and Publication Center)
Indigenous Languages in India
Colleen M. Fitzgerald (University of Texas at Arlington)
The Restorative Role of Indigenous Language Vitality
Jeffrey Heath (University of Michigan)
Minority Indigenous Languages in the Middle East and North Africa
3:30 - 5:00 pm
Panel IV: Revitalization through Advocacy
Dan Kaufman (Endangered Language Alliance)
Indigenous Languages in New York City: Ideology and Conservation
Justin Brown (University of Cape Town)
Language Prophets and Language Profits?
5:00 - 5:30 pm
Closing by Sally Thomason
5:30 - 6:30 pm
Reception
