A Journey of Nuu-Wee-Ya’ (Oregon Dene/Athabaskan) Language Revitalization presented by Dr. Jaeci Hall

UPDATE: This First Tuesday Talk will only be available via Zoom. Please register using the link to the left, thank you!

CHM admission: Free for members / $7 for non-members

Online suggested donation: $5 

Jaeci Hall has made it her life’s work to learn and teach Nuu-wee-ya’ (Oregon Dene/Athabaskan). In 2002 Hall began to learn language from Tututni Elder Gilbert Towner and began to pursue academic training to help analyze, learn and teach Nuu-wee-ya’ (‘our language’). She got a B.A. in Anthropology from Linfield College in 2005; a Master’s in Native American Linguistics in 2008, and completed her PhD in 2021. Her PhD research has included description of Nuu-wee-ya’ language structure through the analysis of Nuu-wee-ya’ archival texts as well as discussions of how to approach language revitalization with an Indigenous perspective. She spends her time working on her language, teaching it to her children and enjoying the rivers of Oregon.

This presentation describes Dr. Hall’s journey of language revitalization of Nuu-wee-ya’. This language is a traditional indigenous language of Oregon and Northern California that is connected to multiple tribal communities. She will discuss how she began this journey through language camps with Elder day-sri Gilbert Towner, her collaborations with tribal communities, the process of researching and describing Nuu-wee-ya’ and why language revitalization matters.

All events subject to change.