Smithsonian Spotlight: Eyak Language Revitalization
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Descendants of Eyak Chief Marie Smith-Jones and UAA
Linguistic Anthropology Professor, D. Roy Mitchell shown. |
On December 1, 2011 at the Anchorage Museum, UAA Linguistic Anthropologist D. Roy Mitchell held a discussion on how Eyak people are bringing their “extinct” Alaska Native language back to life. Recent revitalization efforts include holding language workshops, posting language lessons online, and holding bi-weekly Eyak language circles. These talks were made possible by the Smithsonian Institution and the Anchorage Museum’s Arctic Studies Center.
As you may now the last Eyak Chief, Marie Smith-Jones passed away some years ago. She was known as one of the last fluent speakers of the Eyak language. Now there are but a few people speaking and practicing the language including: Professor Michael Krauss, Guillaume Leduey, and D. Roy Mitchell. Efforts have been made by the these teachers and the Eyak Tribe to hold language workshops in Anchorage & Cordova, Alaska with descendants of Eyak Chief Maries Smith-Jones to bring this language back to their people.
Here are some good places to get started learning the Eyak Language. Join their Facebook and Eyak Yak language sessions today.
http://sites.google.com/site/eyaklanguageproject/
Or watch some videos on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFn0EBF7X&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ni_EtZ5TqQo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJfxNl1qlTQ&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zinj8KQwYeQ&feature=related