Technology, Internet Access, and Language Revitalization in Chickasaw Nation
Channel: National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA)
Date: 2017-12-15

Joshua Hinson is the Director of the Chickasaw Language Revitalization Program, as well as a linguist, artist, cultural historian, learner, and advocate of the Chickasaw language (learn more about Josh’s work here). Nicole Umayam works as a Technology Outreach Specialist with the Arizona State Library and as a member of the Digital Inclusion Corps at the National Digital Inclusion Alliance, and has been involved in a number of language revitalization and community archives projects.

The Chickasaw Language Revitalization Program offers a number of programs to share the gift of the Chickasaw language with the Nation’s citizens, including a modified Master-Apprentice program, the Chickasaw Basic App, community language classes, and Chickasaw Rosetta Stone. In this interview, Josh and Nicole talk about how access to broadband and Internet-capable devices is paramount in creating new speakers of the Chickasaw, making the language accessible to the Chickasaw Nation, and supporting language revitalization. They also discuss how new technology words are created in the Chickasaw language, such as the Chickasaw word for Internet, tali’ lopi’ lawa’ (“a bunch of metal brains”).

https://www.chickasaw.tv/profiles/joshua-hinson-profile?ref=durl

-- About the Interview Series --

The Native languages of North America are all classified as severely or critically endangered. Simultaneously, tribal and rural communities are disproportionately affected by the digital divide. Language revitalization and reclamation involves targeted activities for reversing language shift, which includes linguistic documentation, language pedagogy and learning, cultural revitalization, increasing the accessibility of the language (archiving and dissemination), and increasing the language’s prestige within the dominant community. All components of digital inclusion--robust and affordable broadband, Internet-capable devices, digital literacy training, technical support, and relevant content--are mission critical to these aims.

The Language Revitalization and Digital Inclusion Interviews are a series of conversations between both the language revitalization and digital inclusion communities of practice regarding the importance of technology and Internet accessibility for stabilizing endangered languages. Topics will include how technology and Internet access supports language learning, how Native languages can and should be represented online, meaningful and culturally relevant adoption of technology, and the digital skills needed for community-based language revitalization work.