Michael Krauss receives Denali Award

Yesterday at the closing of the Alaska Federation of Natives annual convention linguist Michael Krauss received the Denali Award, an honor given to non-Natives for service to Native peoples and issues. Dr. Krauss is the founder of the Alaska Native Language Center and has been a longtime advocate for Alaska Native languages. He was among the first to alert his profession and the wider public to issues of language endangerment -- in Alaska and across the world. While Krauss and Native leaders have not always seen eye to eye on priorities for language work, this award clearly reflects that on the fundamental issues of importance -- the need for language documentation and the need to develop revitalization programs -- academic linguistics and the Alaska Native communities stand in agreement. Surely this bodes well for future collaboration to preserve a future for Alaska's indigenous languages.