Archivist to discuss Native language work

September 11, 2018

University Relations

Brian Carpenter will discuss how Native communities use Indigenous language archives — and how that shapes the archivists' job — during a talk at 7 p.m. Sept. 18 in Schaible Auditorium at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

“Letting Knowledge Find Who It Needs: Future Directions for Archives of Indigenous Languages” is free and open to the public.

Carpenter is curator of Native American materials at the American Philosophical Society Library's Center for Native American and Indigenous Research in Philadelphia.

He will discuss how language heritage communities make up the biggest audience of researchers in Indigenous language archives. They also hold the greatest expertise about the archival collections’ significance, their context and their use in strengthening new generations of speakers. Archivists are obligated to make archives usable for them.

The talk will address initiatives at UAF's Alaska Native Language Archive and APS, which holds the oldest archive of Indigenous languages in the Americas.

Carpenter has worked with over 50 Native communities throughout North America to enhance their access to archival materials at the APS and receive their guidance. Carpenter’s talk at UAF is supported by NSF RAPID Grant #1735002.