Advocates For Indigenous California Language Survival

THE ADVOCATES FOR INDIGENOUS CALIFORNIA LANGUAGE SURVIVAL IS AN ORGANIZATION DEVOTED TO IMPLEMENTING AND SUPPORTING THE REVITALIZATION OF INDIGENOUS CALIFORNIA LANGUAGES. ITS MISSION IS TO ASSIST CALIFORNIA INDIANS IN LANGUAGE MAINTENANCE AND RENEWAL.

MASTER APPRENTICE LANGUAGE LEARNING PROGRAM (MAP) IS OUR CORE PROGRAM. WE SUPPORTED 10-15 MASTER APPRENTICE TEAMS OF 2 WHO ARE WORKING ON DISTINCT INDIGENOUS LANGUAGES. MENTOR(S) WORK WITH THE TEAM AND ADVISES THEM THROUGH THE PROGRAM. THE MASTERS AND APPRENTICES ARE SUPPORTED WITH MONTHLY FUNDING TO PARTICIPATE IN THE PROGRAM, WHICH IS INTENDED TO COVER SUPPLIES NEEDED FOR THEIR WORK TOGETHER. IN 2021 WE MOVED MOST SERVICES TO AN ONLINE PLATFORM DUE TO THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC BUT CONTINUED TO PROVIDE SOME TEAMS THAT COULD STILL WORK TOGETHER WITH THEIR MONTHLY STIPENDS. DURING THIS TAX YEAR, WE HELD ONLINE MONTHLY WORKSHOPS FOR THE MASTER APPRENTICE TEAMS TO BE TRAINED IN LANGUAGE IMMERSION APPROACHES. THE PROGRAM DIRECTLY AFFECTED UP TO 15 MASTER SPEAKERS, UP TO 15 APPRENTICES, TWO VOLUNTEER MENTORS AND ONE EMPLOYEE, THE PROGRAM ASSISTANT, FOR A TOTAL OF 33 PARTICIPANTS.

BREATH OF LIFE ARCHIVE INSTITUTE FOR CALIFORNIA INDIGENOUS LANGUAGES AND EXTENDED PROJECTS. IN THIS TAX YEAR (MAY 2022) WE HELD THE INSTITUTE AT U.C. BERKELEY. THIS PROGRAM SERVED 55 COMMUNITY RESEARCHERS, 26 LINGUISTIC PARTNERS, AND 8 VOLUNTEERS. EACH TEAM WORKED WITH THEIR LINGUISTIC PARTNER TO GAIN A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THEIR LANGUAGE STRUCTURE AND COMPLETED A FINAL PROJECT WHICH IS PRESENTED AT THE END OF THE WEEK. IN SUMMER 2021 WE OFFERED SECOND BREATH OF LIFE PROJECT WHICH SERVED 26 ATTENDEES FOR A 3-DAY WORKSHOP TO ASSIST ATTENDEES WITH MORE IN DEPTH RESEARCH AND LANGUAGE IMMERSION TRAINING. IN FALL 2021, WE PROVIDED A SIMILAR PROGRAM FOR SMALL GROUPS OF 5 THAT ALLOWED FOR 25 PARTICIPANTS FROM THE WASHOE, PIT RIVER, PATWIN, CHOCHENYO AND NISENAN TRIBES TO ATTEND THE UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES FOR RESEARCH, ALONG WITH 5 VOLUNTEERS, FOR A TOTAL OF 30 SERVED. IN THE SAME TIME-FRAME WE OFFERED AN ONLINE SYMPOSIUM FEATURING GUEST PRESENTERS ONCE A MONTH. THROUGH ONLINE PRESENTATIONS MONTHLY IT SERVED 394 PARTICIPANTS.

FAMILY LANGUAGE PROGRAM: AN EXTENSION OF THE MASTER APPRENTICE PROGRAM WHICH SUPPORTS FAMILIES WITH APPROACHES TO LANGUAGE IMMERSION AND SUPPORTS THEM WITH A MENTOR AND TRAINING. IN THIS TAX YEAR, WE DID NOT HAVE SESSIONS HELD BUT UPDATED OUR POLICIES AND PROCEDURES IN PREPARATION FOR GROWING THE PROGRAM.