The language revitalization movement needs you
Thank you for considering a charitable donation to one of these organizations doing good work with endangered languages:
THE ENDANGERED LANGUAGE ALLIANCE
NEW YORK, NY – The Endangered Language Alliance (ELA) was founded with the goal of working with immigrant and refugee populations in New York and other cities, helping them document and maintain their languages. At the same time, ELA has worked through numerous outreach and education events to increase the public’s awareness of urban linguistic diversity.
NEW HAVEN, CT – ELF is a 501(c)3 founded in 1996 with the goal of supporting endangered language preservation and documentation projects. Our main mechanism for supporting work on endangered languages has been funding grants to individuals, tribes, and museums. ELF’s grants have promoted work in over 55 countries and have seen a wide range of projects, from the development of indigenous radio programs in South Dakota, to recording of the last living oral historian of the Shor language of western Siberia, to the establishment of orthographies and literacy materials to be used by endangered language teaching programs all over the world.
LIVING TONGUES INSTITUTE FOR ENDANGERED LANGUAGES
SALEM, OR – The mission of the Living Tongues Institute for Endangered Languages is to promote the documentation, maintenance, preservation, and revitalization of endangered languages worldwide through linguist-aided, community-driven multimedia language documentation projects. Projects begin with expeditions to communities to dialogue with the last speakers of local endangered languages. After we obtain the permission of the community to work with them, we discuss various courses of action to help them meet their own goals of maintenance and revitalization.
RESOURCE NETWORK FOR LINGUISTIC DIVERSITY
VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA – RNLD's mission is to advance the sustainability of Indigenous languages and to increase the participation of Indigenous peoples in all aspects of language documentation and revitalisation through training, resource sharing, networking, and advocacy. Through our activities, we contribute to the holistic health and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities by providing direct relief from the suffering and distress that arises from the loss of Indigenous languages and the consequent alienation from cultural heritage and Indigenous identity.
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TLINGIT
JUNEAU, AK – Sealaska Heritage is a regional Native nonprofit 501(c)(3) corporation. Our mission is to perpetuate and enhance Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian cultures. Our goal is to promote cultural diversity and cross-cultural understanding. We offer numerous programs promoting Southeast Alaskan Native culture, including language and art. We maintain a substantial archive of Southeast Alaskan Native ethnographic material. We partner with local schools to promote academics and cultural education. Biennially, we produce Celebration, Alaska's second-largest Native gathering. We own and operate the Sealaska Heritage Store, and produce True Southeast, an ongoing cultural exhibit on the first floor of our headquarters in Juneau's landmark Walter Soboleff Building.
TSOTSIL
CHIAPAS, MEXICO – Schools for Chiapas is an organization of grassroots activists and communities working to support the autonomous, indigenous Zapatista communities of Chiapas, Mexico. We are neither a traditional NGO (non-governmental organization) nor are we affiliated with any government, religion, or business. As a subsidiary of our parent organization, Grass Roots Events, Inc., Schools for Chiapas began as an effort to raise funds and support the construction of schools in the autonomous Mayan communities. We are honored to have been involved from the start in the first ever Zapatista school construction project located in the highlands civilian center of Oventic (Caracol II, Heart of the Zapatistas in Front of the World). Today Mayan children and adults throughout Chiapas work and learn in community-run, Zapatista centers that promote indigenous languages and traditions, while charting an independent path for indigenous development based on dignity, democracy, and justice. These Zapatista programs which focus on education for literacy, education for health, education for ecological agriculture and women’s empowerment have always been our inspiration!
Ngarrindjeri
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Tohono O’odham
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Tongan
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Mandinka
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Tontemboan Minihasa
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Ibanag
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Mahri
AMERICAN INSTITUTE FOR YEMENI STUDIES
The not-for-profit American Institute for Yemeni Studies provides essential resources for the support of research in Yemen and the development of academic ties between the Yemeni and American academic communities. Donations to the Institute’s Abdulkarim Al-Eryani Yemeni Scholarship Fund will go to support research by Yemeni scholars.
OHLONE
BERKELEY, CA – News from Native California is a quarterly magazine devoted to the vibrant cultures, arts, languages, histories, social justice movements, and stories of California’s diverse Indian peoples. We strive to preserve the cherished knowledge of an older generation, provide opportunities for a younger generation making a place for Indian ways in the modern world, and illuminate the beauty of Native cultures to all of California. Regular features, such as our calendar, announce and report on Native events. Feature articles range from ceremonial regalia and traditional use of tobacco to environmental issues and California archaeology, all emphasizing Native Californian points of view, historic and contemporary. We also regularly feature poetry, short stories, plays, and literary non-fiction by California Indian writers. Regular columns address California Indian languages, the arts, books, skills & technology, law, and more.
Irish
"Poetry Ireland connects people and poetry. We are committed to achieving excellence in the reading, writing and performance of poetry throughout the island of Ireland. Our commitment to creating performance and publication opportunities for poets at all stages of their careers helps ensure that the best work is made available to the widest possible audience, securing a future for Irish poetry that is as celebrated as its past." – Poetry Ireland Website
"The Irish Poetry Reading Archive (IPRA) is a central repository that holds recordings of Irish poets and writers, reading their own work and giving a very brief overview of the context and circumstances that influenced the writing of their poems. Many of the readings are accompanied by handwritten copies of the poem, created by the poet especially for the reading. This collection aims to capture and preserve the rich and diverse landscape of poetry in Ireland. It includes the voices of: established poets; emerging poets; performance poets; avant-garde poets; English and Irish language poets; and Irish diaspora poets." – Irish Poetry Reading Website
Kinyindu
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Haitian Creole
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HAWAIIAN
HILO, HI – The Pūnana Leo Movement grew out of a dream that there be reestablished throughout Hawai‘i the mana of a living Hawaiian language from the depth of our origins. The Pūnana Leo initiates, provides for and nurtures various Hawaiian Language environments. Our families are the living essence of these environments, and we find our strength in our spirituality, love of our language, love of our people, love of our land, and love of knowledge.
buli
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oneida
ONEIDA LANGUAGE AND CULTURAL CENTER
ONTARIO, CANADA – OLCC practitioners work diligently to keep our language vibrant. Methods research is geared toward producing speakers who are equipped to use Oneida in their everyday lives in their homes, in their neighbourhoods and in our community. The Oneida Language Committee formed around 1981 to respond to a growing demand for Oneida language instruction and to begin development of language resource materials. Initially the community organization was mainly self-supporting through volunteer fund raising which later was supplemented by a modest Pathways grant. In 1990, the Oneida and Council made an agreement which allowed the Language Committee the use of the premises formerly known as Oneida No. 3 School for as long as there is an Oneida Language Program. This agreement was nullified when OLCC became a program under Council’s administration shortly thereafter. This one room schoolhouse was built in the late 1800’s and creaks with age.
Mekeo
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N|uu
The South African San Institute-SASI has its roots in the formation of the Working Group of Indigenous Minorities in Southern Africa (WIMSA). In the 1980s and the early 1990s, development programmes were initiated for the San in Botswana and Namibia. Through a series of meetings, the San realised the need for regional organisation and established WIMSA. As part of a South African initiative to secure basic human rights for San people, a support organisation-SASI- was established, becoming a Trust in April 1996. (From the SASI website).
INUKTITUT
PIRUVIK CENTER FOR INUIT LANGUAGE, CULTURE AND WELLBEING
IQALUIT, NUNAVUT, CANADA – Pirurvik is a centre of excellence for Inuit language, culture and well-being. Founded in the Fall of 2003, and based in Nunavut’s capital, Iqaluit, Pirurvik has developed a reputation for taking on some of the most innovative initiatives in the Territory. Through its team of highly skilled and experienced professionals, Pirurvik offers a range of specialized services, programs and productions grounded in the Inuktitut language and the Inuit way of life. Pirurvik’s activities are focused on three core concepts: learning what has come before, teaching what is here today and developing the future vitality of Inuit culture and the Inuktitut language. The Pirurvik Centre has developed its reputation on the basis of the strength of its employees, affiliates and most importantly, our Elder advisors. Each person brings with them a unique interest and depth of experience working in the area of Inuit culture, language and wellbeing.
Tsou
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Manchu
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Mapuche
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Mobilian Trade Language
NEW ORLEANS, LA – New Orleans-born Grayhawk Perkins, who is of Native American Choctaw and Houma Nation decent, is a well known cultural figure in Louisiana. In his career, he has worked professionally as an educator, historian, and a musician. As a musician, he has been involved with the New Orleans music industry for decades, having shared the stage with many notable acts such as the Neville Brothers and Coco Robicheaux. He performs regularly at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and the Voodoo Experience Music Festival, and has worked as a Jazz Fest Coordinator for over 25 years.
Nuer
SAN FRANCISCO, CA – The VAD Foundation is a nonprofit organization working in South Sudan to create community-driven development projects. Established by Valentino Deng and Dave Eggers after the publication of What is the What, the Foundation's first major project is the construction and operation of an 18-structure educational complex in Valentino's hometown of Marial Bai, South Sudan. Marial Bai Secondary School (MBSS) has increased access to excellent secondary education, trained teachers, created equal opportunities for girls, and promoted literacy for children and adults in the region. MBSS is the highest ranking South Sudanese secondary school that is free for students to attend, a true leader in the movement to educate the new nation of South Sudan.
PINTUPI
WALTJA TJUTANGKU PALYAPAYI ABORIGINAL CORPORATION
AUSTRALIA – Waltja Tjutangku Palyapayi Aboriginal Corporation (Waltja) is an Aboriginal controlled community-based organisation, which does good work with families, grounded in strong culture and relationships. We work in remote Central Australian Aboriginal communities, across nine languages and across more than one quarter of the Northern Territory. Waltja Tjutangku Palyapayi is in the Luritja language. It literally means “families, for everybody, really good together”, or the short version, “doing good work with families”. Waltja is governed by a Board of Directors who are senior traditional Aboriginal women, permanent residents and leaders in the remote communities where we work.
Northern Saami
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AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE
NEW YORK, NY – ASL Slam was founded in 2005 with a mission to provide a space for literary and performing artists in the deaf community to present, create and develop their works in front of a live audience. Today this mission is carried out through three main programming objectives: To present and encourage new, and experimental work in performance art, improvisation, literature, visual art, and music by providing a venue for emerging and established artists to present their work in a safe and supportive environment; to use video production asa means to preserve ASL expressive works and promote community artists to a larger audience; and to dedicate resources to support and promote the expansion of ASL Slam events in cities across the country.
Iwaidja
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Selk’nam
Keyuk is a poet dedication to reconstructing the Selk'nam language, and traveling to the land of his ancestors.
KARELIAN
HELSINKI, FINLAND – The Karelian Education Society aims to combine the Karelian kingdoms on both sides of the border to nurture language, culture, and identity.
Isthmus Zapotec
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HAIDA
KASAAN HAIDA HERITAGE FOUNDATION
KASAAN, AK – Kasaan Haida Heritage Foundation (KKHF) is a Native nonprofit organization founded for the Kasaan Haida people of Southeast Alaska. KHHF was established in 1999 by Kavilco Incorporated, a village corporation within the Southeast Alaska region formed under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA). The concern was clear that an effort should be made to document and preserve our Kasaan Haida culture. There are many projects important to the cultural heritage of Kasaan Haida people: clan house and totem pole restorations, Haida language perpetuation, repatriation of Kasaan artifacts, videotaping and interviewing our Elders, and cleaning up the creeks near Kasaan for the return of salmon runs.
Tofa
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DOGON
SPRING VALLEY, OH – The Tandana Foundation is a non-profit organization that offers intercultural volunteer opportunities, scholarships, and support for small community projects in highland Ecuador and Mali's Dogon Country. Tandana coordinates volunteer programs that offer visitors to Ecuador or Mali the unique opportunity to be guests rather than tourists, to form intercultural friendships, to experience a rich indigenous culture, and to make a difference in the lives of new friends. Its scholarship program allows rural Ecuadorian students to continue their secondary and higher education. Its community projects support villagers in Mali and Ecuador as they realize their dreams of improving their communities. Tandana comes from a Kichwa root meaning "to gather together" or "to unite" and represents the spirit of our work. "Tandana is to unite together, be together, struggle together. This is what you have done and what you are doing. Tandana is not a sleeping word or a dead word. It is a living word," explained our friend Matias Perugachi. The Tandana Foundation has no religious or political affiliation, and we welcome all to participate in a spirit of respect and joining together. Tantanakushunshik, as we say in Ecuador.
Garifuna
SOUTH BRONX, NY – Founded by a multi-cultural group of community activists with the vision to provide a place where the afro-central american population living in New York can feel at home. We provide and disseminate information about policies, and practices that impact our lives as immigrants. Our programs help enrich the lives of individuals who seek to improve their quality of life and that of their families. Hondurans Against AIDS, members and other visionaries Garifuna people are working hard to make sure we can accomplish our mission. Casa Yurumein is the hub for Hondurans Against AIDS and the board members and volunteers play a dual role with both organizations.
Walmajarri
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maori
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Sourashtra
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BASQUE
Etxepare's mission is to spread the Basque language and culture throughout the world. The Etxepare Basque Institute is an ambassador for our language and culture abroad, and encourages the international diffusion of the Basque language (Euskara) and Basque artists of all disciplines: from Basque literature to the performing arts, and including cinema, sculpture, painting and music. Yet in place of the classic model of a grand institute, we want to be a versatile institute which moves freely through an interconnected world, capable of making the most of the power of networks and adapting to specific demands. Developing our own cultural expressions and encouraging dialogue with other cultures is crucial to achieving this goal. We Basques are open to the world, for centuries we’ve learned a great deal from the outside world and we can still learn much more. Yet, as the well-known 19th century musician José María Iparragirre said, we must also give and extend our fruits throughout the world; we want to make the world more Basque, and the Basque Country more universal.
Kuranko
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Mvskoke
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Uyghur
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NAVAJO
WINDOW ROCK, AZ – The Navajo Language Academy, Inc. is a non-profit educational organization devoted to the scientific study and promotion of the Navajo language. The NLA is a joint effort by professional language teachers and linguists. The NLA has hosted Navajo linguistics workshops for scholars every summer since 1997.
'Ongata
LANGAGE, LANGUES, ET CULTURES D'AFRIQUE
"The research unit Langage, langues et cultures d’Afrique noire (“Languages and cultures of Sub-Saharan Africa”) (LLACAN, UMR 8135) was founded in 1994 and is affiliated to the National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) and the National Institute of Oriental Languages and Civilisations (INALCO). Research at LLACAN is based on primary data collected during extended periods of immersion fieldwork in Africa. Our projects focus on (i) the documentation and analysis of the linguistic and ethnolinguistic features of languages of Sub-Saharan Africa, many of which are endangered, without a writing tradition and little known; (ii) the analysis of linguistic policies, the valorisation of African languages, and the reflection on the use of modern technologies for digitising and processing linguistic and literary data of African languages; (iii) the analysis of oral and written literature produced in local languages, allowing special access to the cultural background they convey. More than 100 genetically and typologically diverse languages and language groups, including extinct languages (Egyptian and Meroitic) and creoles, are studied at LLACAN." – Llacan Website
Nomlaki
ADVOCATES FOR INDIGENOUS CALIFORNIA LANGUAGE SURVIVAL
The AICLS co-ordinates a 'Master Apprentice' language learning program, which accepts donations.
Elder fluent speakers team up with younger adult apprentices to engage in 10-20 hours per week of activities using their language together. During the program year the teams attend intensive trainings in immersion-style methods of language learning and teaching. The ultimate goal of the Master Apprentice Program is to produce enough new speakers so that communities can develop their own unique strategies for the renewed use and transmission of Indian languages. You can donate to their program here.
Kromanti
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Thangmi
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Tigrinya
AFRICA WORLD PRESS & THE RED SEA PRESS
TRENTON, NJ – In business since 1983, our mission is to provide high quality literature on the history, culture, politics of Africa and the African Diaspora. You will find that our books enlighten, educate and engage.