CoLang 2024

The Institute on Collaborative Language Research (CoLang), will be jointly held June 2024 at Arizona State University (ASU) and Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community (SRPMIC), one of several federally recognized tribes in the greater Phoenix, Arizona area. CoLang takes place every two years, bringing together the world’s leading academics, community scholars, and indigenous language activists in order to provide leading-edge training in language documentation, revitalization, and collaborative practices. ASU is situated on the ancestral homelands of the Akimel O’odham and Piipaash, the two Native American societies and languages that comprise the SRPMIC community. As such, the theme for CoLang 2024 is “Creating Partnerships, Honoring Neighbors, Building Capacity.” CoLang 2024 is a significant step in the evolution of CoLang, as it will be the first co-equal partnership, from day one, between a university and tribal organization in the conceiving, planning, funding, and hosting of this world class institute.

Our theme also represents a step in the evolution of social science, where educators and indigenous scholars meet, learn, and do research in a setting that was shaped by the collaborative vision of an institution of higher learning and a tribal-run language program, one that is facing many of the familiar challenges that Native American communities in the United States and indigenous communities around the world face in reclaiming their languages. An important aspiration of CoLang 2024 is to serve as a model for how such a co-equal enterprise can lead to a productive and sustainable partnership between neighbors, and how major American research universities such as ASU can honor and serve their tribal neighbors in a meaningful way.

In addition to the many workshop offerings that have come to define CoLang Institutes, CoLang 2024 will emphasize four areas that not only highlight our local expertise but also explore exciting developments in language documentation, maintenance, and reclamation: 

• Leveraging new technology: training in the latest developments in using code and programming to transcribe and analyze language data

• Utilizing creative technologies to expand domains of language learning and use: advanced tools and skills for making creative and innovative multimedia for language learning, including filmmaking and graphic novels

• Planning for a language program: leveraging community resources and engaging partners at any/all levels towards for developing community-based language programs

• Utilizing legacy materials to restore traditional knowledge: advanced skills with interpreting legacy materials and reconstructing traditional knowledge systems

General registration for CoLang 2024 is now closed but the institute is offering limited late registration options.