Blackfoot Research
I believe that science exists not only to satisfy our curiosity but also to better our lives. As a science, linguistics finds its ideal when research outcomes come back to benefit society. The connection between theoretical linguistics and applied linguistics is still weaker than it should be. My projects in Blackfoot Research address this issue by conducting community-based research (CBR).
Blackfoot Language Group
In the past, I led The Blackfoot Language Group (BLG). The aim of the BLG was to produce materials for Blackfoot language teaching and learning. BLG members were undergraduate and graduate student volunteers. The BLG projects were most active from 2007 to 2013. Projects conducted includes:
- picture books
- animated picture books
- audio-vocabulary (no-longer available)
Collaborative Language Planning Project
I am a co-founder of . CLPP aims to enhance communication among language activists, language teachers, Ñý¼§Ö±²¥, and researchers from Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities in the state of Montana. Collaborative partners include representatives from the tribal colleges and universities (TCUs) in Montana as well as language activists, teachers and researchers from the independent community language programs. CLPP enriches language revitalization efforts among Indigenous communities, enhances teachers and activists’ training experiences, and encourages collaboration among partners. The photo posted here is myself (right) discussing with Susan Penfield (left), co-director of CLPP, at the second CLPP meeting held in May 2019. Initial development of CLPP is supported by the National Science Foundation's Documenting Endangered Languages program [BSC1800617; BCS1800820].
Montana CoLang
Ñý¼§Ö±²¥, in collaboration with Chief Dull Knife College, is the host of CoLang in 2020 and 2022. I am a co-director of the institute. The institute in 2020 was canceled due to the pandemic. Instead, the three-day Web Series was held in June, 2020. The CoLan 2022 is scheduled to begin on June 13th in 2022.