What else could a Commission do? How should it be structured? These will be the topics of an open forum entitled Commission on Alaska Native Languages: What should a statewide AK Native language advocacy organization look like?, to be held as part of the Bilingual Multicultural Education/Equity Conference this week. If you in Anchorage, consider coming down to share your views. If you can't make it to Anchorage, feel free to post your ideas as comments in reply to this post and we'll make sure your voice is heard.
- Date: Wednesday, April 20 Time: 10:15-11:30 AM Location: Sheraton Hotel, 401 6th Ave., Anchorage
For the record, some have asked whether the Alaska Native Language Center already fulfills the role of the proposed Commission, making the Commission redundant or unnecessary. This is certainly a question worthy of discussion, but I think there are several important distinctions between ANLC and the proposed Commission. ANLC was created in 1972 by state legislation with a mission to "document, cultivate, and promote Alaska Native languages." This mission does seem very much in line with the goals of the Commission. However, while ANLC can promote and advocate for Native languages, it is not very well placed to set the agenda for the future of Native language efforts in the state. For one thing, ANLC is a university-based entity, subject to the constraints of the academy and the very real constraints of funding. For another, ANLC lacks the broad base of community representation to give voice to all Alaskan languages. A much better model might be for ANLC to work in conjunction with the Commission on Alaska Native Languages, with ANLC providing advice to the Commission as needed and the Commission providing direction to ANLC's language work. In this way the Commission could help ANLC to better serve the identified needs for Alaska Native language work.