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. For more details, please visit: https://ii.umich.edu/ii/news-events/all-events/ii-conference.html.

This event is free and open to the public. No registration is needed.

If you are a person with a disability who requires an accommodation to attend this event, please reach out to us at least 2 weeks in advance of this event. Please be aware that advance notice is necessary as some accommodations may require more time for the university to arrange. Please contact: lacs.office@umich.edu.

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