The Myaamia Center received a $2.1 million grant to revitalize indigenous communities’ languages through archival documentation.
The grant was provided by the Mellon Foundation, which provides grants for communities focused on the arts and humanities. According to the press release, the grant will specifically help to expand the work of the National Breath of Life Institute, which is based on Miami’s campus, and its mission is to expand the archival work and to revitalize indigenous communities’ languages.
“I think that the important part of any revitalization effort is that in this particular case the Myaamia community has to be engaged in revitalizing and working on the things that are important to them.” said Daryl Baldwin, the executive director of the Myaamia Center
The funding will be spread out for several different initiatives in the program. According to the press release, the funding will help to double the size of the archivist apprenticeship program from 10 to 20 people allowing for more participation from over 20 communities.
A new fellowship program will advance those starting their process with archival documentation and enhance their education within the program. It also will fund a new team which works with the Indigenous Languages Digital Archive (ILDA) Software, which is used to develop educational portals and improve the platform’s functionality.
According to a 2021 press release, the Indigenous Languages Digital Archive is used to gather primary sources from indigenous communities who have endangered languages and analyzes them in a digital space to develop further education for those in the community. It also helps develop research efforts for indigenous communities around the country.
“There are a few important impacts when it comes to preserving and revitalizing the languages,” said Stella Beerman, the communications specialist at the Myaamia Center.
“Cultural stories and knowledge were first spoken and recorded by our ancestors in the Miami language, but there is not always a translation to know what it is culturally. It helps us to try and better understand that cultural knowledge, as well as strengthen our connection to our culture.”
The National Breath of Life foundation is co-directed by the executive director of the Myaamia Center. It was made to focus on building up the capacity to strengthen and recover languages with archival information. They have trained over 141 tribal representatives from 65 different communities around the country.
According to the foundation’s website the “National breath of life welcomes any endangered language group committed to the development of community-curated archives that directly respond to language revitalization goals.”
This is not the first time that the Mellon Foundation has awarded a grant to the Myaamia center. In 2021 the Mellon Foundation granted $510,000 to the center and targeted the development stages of the archival program.
“The first grant was called a public knowledge grant and it was used to develop the technology called the Indigenous Languages Digital Archive that we use and are further developing with this second grant” said Beerman.
The Myaamia Center was created at Miami University in 2001. Myaamia heritage students have enrolled at Miami University since 1991 and have 45 Myaamia heritage students enrolled. The center focuses on not only language revitalization but also educational material for the tribe. It also conducts summer youth programs that students can participate in.
According to the press release, the Myaamia center intends to begin these new efforts starting in 2025. It will create an immediate impact on indigenous communities who do not yet have access to the proper tools needed to renew and strengthen their language.
