PFW to host International Year of Indigenous Languages 2019: Perspectives Conference

FORT WAYNE, Ind.—Government officials from a number of countries; members of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) IYIL steering committee; members of the United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner; indigenous peoples from Africa, Asia, Europe, the Americas, the Middle East, and Oceana; indigenous poets and artists; activists; academic, and indigenous scholars; local community members; high school and university students; and community members will be attending the International Year of Indigenous Languages (IYIL) 2019: Perspectives Conference on Wednesday, October 30, through Saturday, November 2, on the campus of Purdue University Fort Wayne. In addition, the Smithsonian Institution’s Mother Tongue Film Festival comes to the Embassy Theatre on Friday, November 1.

Two members of the Purdue Fort Wayne English and Linguistics faculty have been working closely with partners across the university and the globe in bringing the conference to campus.

Shannon Bischoff, professor of linguistics, interim chair of anthropology, and associate director of University Research and Innovation, and Mary Encabo, a continuing lecturer in linguistics and outreach director of special programs for University Research and Innovation, are both involved with the UNESCO’s IYIL work. In January of this year, they and other colleagues, with the help of the Purdue Fort Wayne, hosted the first event for the celebratory year in New York City.

“That’s where I met Diego Tituaña, second secretary, Permanent Mission of Ecuador to the United Nations,” says Bischoff. “He helped draft the resolution to create the UN 2019 IYIL and presented it to the UN General Assembly. It was right after that that Diego and I began working closely on organizing this conference.”

The conference is also a celebration of Fort Wayne’s local indigenous community as well as the immigrant and refugee communities who have made Fort Wayne their home and have continued to speak their mother tongue/heritage language in their everyday lives.

Encabo and her family emigrated to Fort Wayne from the Philippines in 2001, just five days after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. She graduated from Canterbury High School and earned a bachelor’s degree from Bryn Mawr College and a master’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania.

There will be a sizable delegation from Myanmar (also known as Burma) at the conference because of the university’s extensive history and connection with Fort Wayne Sister Cities and the local Myanmar/Burmese community.

“I serve on the board of Fort Wayne Sister Cities and am the current chair of the Mawlamyine, Myanmar committee,” says Encabo. “I got involved with Sister Cities back in 2016, a few months after the organization signed the Friendship City agreement between Fort Wayne and Mawlamyine. Then, in 2017, I piloted the English teacher program at Mawlamyine University. In each class, there were anywhere from 70 to 200 students. I love that kind of teaching environment, since that is where my skills as a teacher are truly tested.”

“In addition, Chief Doug Lankford of the Miami Tribe is participating in the conference along with a number of Miami community members,” says Bischoff. “Purdue Fort Wayne, under the leadership of Chad Thompson, Emeriti Associate Professor of Anthropology, hosted several Myaamia language summer camps for members of the Miami community in the recent past. Many in Fort Wayne do not realize that the ancestors of the people who first met Europeans in what is today Fort Wayne are still here, and that their community is engaged in groundbreaking indigenous language work bringing international attention to the region. We are also fortunate to have the support of the Myaamia Center at Miami University.”

“Of the over 7,000 languages spoken around the world, 3,000 are spoken by approximately 400 million indigenous community members in over 90 countries,“ adds Bischoff. “Our local community members remind us that our community is multilingual, rich in diversity and human experiences, and that we are part of a global community—home to thriving indigenous communities. The local truly is global.”

The conference begins on Wednesday, October 30, with a series of language workshops from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Walb Union.

Thursday, October 31, starts with conference presentations from 9 a.m. until noon throughout Walb Union, followed by a lunch provided to registered guests; then there will be opening remarks from Purdue Fort Wayne Chancellor Ronald Elsenbaumer, Encabo, and others at 12:45 p.m. A keynote panel is next at 1:15 p.m. Two more sessions will be held from 2:45 to 6 p.m., and then dinner will be provided to registered guests. The evening closes with a keynote panel, moderated by Encabo, from 7 to 8:30 p.m.

The schedule on Friday, November 1, is much like Thursday’s, with the afternoon programs ending at 3:45 p.m. The highlight of the day will be the Mother Tongue Film Festival and Panel beginning at 7 p.m. at the Embassy Theatre in downtown Fort Wayne.

The final day of the conference, Saturday, November 2, features invited talks in the morning, followed by lunch and another keynote panel from 12:30 to 2 p.m. in the International Ballroom. From 2 to 5 p.m., there will be community reports, featuring 20-minute presentations on community-based efforts to maintain or reclaim their languages, and a language expo, which will consist of tables and poster stands exhibiting different aspects, including materials, of the community programs. This part of the conference will take place in the Skybridge area of Helmke Library.

Saturday evening activities include dinner for registered guests, a speech by Diego Tituaña, a youth perspectives panel, traditional Okinoerabu songs, and Mon music and dancing.

For those interested in attending the conference, it is free and open to the community; however, registration is strongly encouraged. Attendees can register outside the International Ballroom in Walb Union each day of the conference, or online registration can be done here.

More information on the conference is available online, at the event’s website.

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