The following is a press release from Words of the People.
Indigenous languages are considered to be endangered and undergoing revitalization. Languages cannot achieve high levels of vitality without multiple areas of life in which people can live and experience these languages—for instance, leisure reading. A great amount of research in language revitalization shows that having leisure activities available in a language not only helps people to learn them, but also supports their strength as a language. Poetry reading is one such leisure activity vital to Indigenous languages — the publication of books which include creative works written in a good way can add support to the efforts Oklahoma tribes are making to create content to inspire youth learning their languages. Words of the People would like to invite language teachers to submit creative works inspired by their language study, and to encourage their students and community members to apply as well.
The United Nations has declared 2022-2032 the International Decade of Indigenous Languages. Words of the People is helping to provide opportunities for publishing and sharing poetry in these languages, which many Native American tribes, as well as land-connected peoples across the world, are working to revitalize. In addition to providing a strengthening of identity and language, Words of the People believes that everyone deserves to read and enjoy literature and poetry in their languages. Words of the People aims to help the wider globalized public to understand the wisdom and worldview within indigenous languages, which are views and understandings not often presented in newer languages such as contemporary English. It is for this reason that we encourage communities to share their works not only sovereignly but in the wider literary community, because doing so can create excitement for students who see themselves reflected and given opportunities in every sphere of life.
Words of the People also asks for your help in showing Native American poets who have written only in English that it is possible to write in their languages in a good way — and that there are opportunities to write and learn in their Indigenous languages, and also to advocate for and empower those in their own community to do the same, even amidst ongoing colonization.
Words of the People hopes that all of these efforts will make Indigenous language reading and writing more normal. Please consider helping us by sharing the attached flyers and encouraging your community members, teachers and language learners to submit! Contributors selected will receive $200 for their work.
Hi Braden yan Håfa Adai,
Your call for submissions was shared with me. I’m a professor at the University of Guam, the furthest of the United States’ territories located on the other side of Hawai’i and fringing South Korea, Japan, the PI and the greater Asia.
Your call is an exciting one! But before I forward the call to my students and fellow writers, I had a couple of questions:
1) The press release implied you would consider submissions from around the world, but I wanted to be sure that all submissions would be welcome, even those beyond the continental US and in nonNative American languages.
2) Are previously published submissions accepted? Some of the possible poetry may have been published in local journals/magazines.
3) Will an English translation be requested/required?
Thank you yan Saina Ma’åse’ for your attention to my questions,
Evelyn Flores
Is there a deadline for submissions.
Do we forward a submission in this comment section?
Thank you.
Dear language lover, How can i participate in this. I belong to CHIK-BARAIK tribe of Jharkhand (INDIA). My mothertongue is Sadri. I write songs related to tribal life of my region. For eg. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHLwxXavyIg&ab_channel=sunilbaraik I am also a co-author of “Grammar of Chhotanagpuri Sadri” published from Central Institute of Indian Languages, Mysore-INDIA. Kindly let me know how ?
Thank you
Sincerely
SUNIL BARAIK