Red FOLINAY Regional Gathering (Central Mexico)
TITULO / TITLE
Sosteniendo la Vitalidad Indígena: Red FOLINAY Simposio de Lenguas Originarias de Nayarit, México
Sustaining Indigenous Liveliness: Red FOLINAY Symposium of Indigenous Languages of Nayarit, México
INSTITUCIÓN Y LUGARES DE EVENTOS / INSTITUTION & LOCATIONS
La Red Interinstitucional de Fortalecimiento a las Lenguas Indígenas del Estado de Nayarit (Red FOLINAY) con eventos específicos en Tepic y acerca de las comunidades de La Sierra del Gran Nayar (territorio Mexicanero, Naáyeri, O’dam, Wixárika).
Interinstitutional Network for the Strengthening of Indigenous Languages of the State of Nayarit (FOLINAY Network) Tepic, with specific events by the communities of La Sierra del Gran Nayar (territorio Mexicanero, Naáyeri, O’dam, Wixárika)
SUMMARY (click on the links for session recordings)
The opening gathering of Sustaining Indigenous Liveliness: Red FOLINAY Symposium of Indigenous Languages of Nayarit, México, took place on February 21st in the Universidad Autónoma de Nayarit with the participation of all representatives of the four Native communities in the state of Nayarit (O’dam, Mexikan, Naáyeri, and Wixárika), community-based programs, non-profit organizations, and institutions. The event was live streamed via Facebook (@FOLINAY) with more audiences online. After the protocol event, the keynote speaker, Dr. José Luis Moctezuma Zamarrón addressed the current issues regarding inclusive language politics in Mexico. This was a hybrid presentation. Later in the week, Red Folinay hosted a storytelling time with a Felipa Rivera, a Wixárika speaker and storyteller. In this online event, children from the Taniuki project participated by listening to a short story in Wixárika.
Additionally, La Red hosted multiple roundtables to discuss current topics regarding Indigenous languages. One roundtable was about the experiences of teaching/learning the Native languages in the state of Nayarit with the intention of sharing experiences about the language revitalization efforts from different perspectives. Another roundtable was about Native languages and their use in public and social movements. In this roundtable, Indigenous women offered their perspectives on the topic. Finally, two academic round tables took place in April-May with presentations of invited panelists with the intention of sharing their research with La Red FOLINAY. The first presentation was about language nest and the experience of Rapa Niu and their bilingual intercultural educational program. Samuel Atán Tuki and Nicole Tuki Rengifo (Rapa Nui Native speakers and language activists) shared with La Red their model for language nest in Rapa Nui (Hōna’a Re’o Rapa Niu). Finally, Ph.D. students César Barreras (Yoeme) and Christian Ramírez from UCLA shared their research in a bilingual panel conversation about Indigenous languages and literature as spaces for decolonization and healing.
The Interinstitutional Network for Strengthening Indigenous Languages of the State of Nayarit (Red FOLINAY) gathering was a great event to visualize the efforts of Native communities and share their experiences in language revitalization. This event was key to planning the agenda for the decade of International Indigenous languages and Indigenous communities. Together with speakers, language collectives, activists, and academics made the commitment to continue collaborating to strengthen the vitality of Indigenous languages in the state of Nayarit. Some of the goals are: 1) to open more spaces for the use of Indigenous languages in public (workshops, classes, schools), 2) to offer workshops for Native speakers to learn how to develop strategies to teach their Native language (teaching pedagogies), 3) to find ways to implement language nests and intercultural and bilingual education in Tepic (follow some models), and 4) bring awareness to the public in general regarding Indigenous languages and revitalization efforts.
CONTACTO / CONTACT
Cyndy García-Weyandt, Kalamazoo College
SITIO WEB / WEBSITE
