Henry Willis, Choctaw speaker, author, and language educator (1929-2016)

Henry Willis, a native speaker of the Choctaw language, an author, educator, and consultant, died peacefully on June 21, 2016 in Oklahoma City, OK. He was surrounded by family and loved ones, who, in Choctaw, Kiowa, and Lakota, sang him into heaven.Henry was born December 21, 1929 in Purcell, OK. As was the case for many native children at that time, he was taken from his family and placed in Goodland Academy, a boarding school, until he reached adulthood. However, Henry was allowed to return to his family during the summer; hence he retained his native language skills. He made a career in the building trades, eventually becoming an industrial electrician. He and his wife Carole raised seven children.After his retirement, Henry turned his attention to the Choctaw language. In 1992, he began to work with linguist Marcia Haag, serving as a classroom teacher for several years at the University of Oklahoma. With her he published two pedagogical grammars, Choctaw Language and Culture, Volumes 1 and 2 (University of Oklahoma Press, 2001, 2007). Henry additionally served as a consultant for Muskogean linguists Aaron Broadwell and Jack Martin. He was a language consultant for Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma for many years, for the Dictionary Committee, the online language courses, and the high school language courses. He made several audiotapes for student use. He contributed to the Chahta Anumpa Holitoblichi archive project.After retiring from the classroom, Henry worked diligently on the translation of the manuscript of the secretarial notes of the Choctaw council meetings 1826-1828. This work was published as A Gathering of Statesmen (University of Oklahoma Press, 2013). Besides linguistic work, Henry translated the five children’s books by author Mary Frye – the “Push stories”—published by Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. He also wrote poems and stories in Choctaw.Henry particularly enjoyed refining Choctaw bible translations, teaching his Sunday School Choctaw class, and working with his many private students. He received numerous awards and honors for his work in revitalizing the Choctaw language.In the final words of the funerary poem Chimilhfiopak ‘Your Life’: “Ish onakma, lawa kvt chi-afvmmachi, micha na, yukpa hosh chi-ayukpachi afehna achi hoke.” ‘When you reach there, many will meet you, and with gladness they will welcome you well.”-- Submitted by Marcia Haag

Call for Papers: American Name Society

Below is a call for papers for the annual conference of the American Name Society in Austin, TX:

The third call for papers for our 2017 annual conference in Austin, Texas has been issued. As before, research on any aspect of names and naming is welcome! The deadline for submission is Thursday, the 30th of June 2016.To submit your abstract, simply use the information provided via this link: http://www.americannamesociety.org/conferences/Should you have any questions about the submission process or the conference itself, please send either myself or our ANS Vice President, Dr. Dorothy Dodge Robbins, an email <drobbins@latech.edu>.  We would be happy to be of assistance!There are also a few spaces left for presenters interested in joining the special panel on Onomastics Beyond Academia.  If you would like to share your experience and expertise in applied onomastics, please contact Laurel Sutton <laurel@CATCHWORDBRANDING.COM>.  The deadline for abstracts for this panel is the 15th of July 2016.  For more information about this panel, please use this link: http://www.americannamesociety.org/call-for-papers-ans-conference-special-panel-on-onomastics-beyond-academia/Looking forward to seeing you in Austin, Texas!Best Wishes,Dr. I. M. NickPresident of the American Name Society

2016 APS Conference Announcement

“Translating Across Space and Time” is an international conference hosted by the American Philosophical Society in Philadelphia, PA from October 13-15, 2016 and co-sponsored by the Penn Humanities Forum.  The three-day conference will bring together a range of scholars, practitioners, and community leaders to discuss the ways archival collections and scholarly fieldwork can help preserve and revitalize endangered languages and cultural practices in indigenous communities throughout North America.Conference panels pay particular attention to the legal and ethical issues archives and scholars face when working with indigenous materials, the ways technologies have forged new forms of cross-cultural collaborations, the influence of past policies on the present, and the best practices for pedagogy.  Brief papers will be precirculated in order to encourage conversation and dialogue during the conference.The full schedule can be found here.Registration is now open for no cost to attendees on the conference website. Questions can be directed to conferences@amphilsoc.org.

Spoken Cree, Level III, by C. Douglas Ellis

The long awaited volume by C. Douglas Ellis of  Spoken Cree III  is now available! 
— Please forward this message to your contacts and librarians to help us reach those who need the book, we depend on you for dissemination --
Spoken Cree: ê-ililîmonâniwahk is a three-stage course exploring the spoken and written language in the cultural context of a Northern Cree village. Based on the Swampy Cree (N-dialect) and Moose Cree (L-dialect) spoken on the West Coast of James Bay, C. Douglas Ellis’s Spoken Cree has become the authoritative work on the Cree language since the original release of Volume I in 1963. Accompanying audio files, recorded by native speakers, are available free of charge at www.spokencree.org.
Spoken Cree Level III is the final volume, continuing to build on the knowledge of the Cree language established in Spoken Cree Level I and I. 
The Spoken Cree Glossary covers the lexical material for all three levels of Spoken Cree.

Who is C. Douglas Ellis?

C. Douglas Ellis is Emeritus Professor of Linguistics at McGill University (Montreal) and currently Adjunct Research Professor in the School of Linguistics and Language Studies at Carleton University (Ottawa). Since his first contact with Cree-speaking people at Moose Factory in 1947, the Cree language has been one of his major academic preoccupations. He has taught intensive summer courses in Cree for government, medical, teaching, and missionary personnel working in the North, as well as courses at the university level throughout the academic year.

There is a video filmed for the launch of the books that you can view online: www.spokencree.org

To place an order: www.spokencree.org, find the book(s) you want, click “Buy Book Online”

Contact: spokencree@eastcree.org

Nhanduti Editora Books

De Reuse's  Comments:  These are mostly of historical and ethnographic interest, but contain quite a bit of information on Jesuit missionary linguistics and Guarani linguistics. Written in Portuguese.
Dear Readers and Friends of Nhanduti Editora
We are inviting you to to look inside our recent book "História Kaiowa. Das Origenas aos Desafios Contemporâneos", (History of Kaiowa People. From the Origins to the Contemporary Challenges), by Graciela Chamorro.
Geta  look inside also other books of series "Povos Indígenas" and "Missões Cristãs e Povos Indígenas":
- Conversão dos Cativos. Povos Indígenas e Missão Jesuítica (Conversion of the Captives. Indigenous Peoples and Jesuit Mission)
- Fronteiras e Identidades. Encontros e Desencontros entre Povos Indígenas e Missões Religiosas (Frontiers and Identities. Encounters and Desencounters between Indigenous Peoples and Religious Missions)
- Missões, Militância Indigenista e Protagonismo Indígena (Missions, Indigenist Millitancy and Idigenous Protagonism)
- Reduções Jesuítico-Guarani. Espaço de diversidade étnica (Jesuit-Guarani Reductions. Space of Etnical Diversity)
- Letra de Índios. Cultura escrita, comunicação e memória indígena nas Reduções do Paraguai (The Handwriting of Indians. Written culture, communication and indigenous memory in the Paraguayan Reductions)
If you would like to check other Nhanduti Editora's New Releases and Issues, open the page: Catalogue EN.
Nhanduti EditoraRua Planalto 44São Bernardo do Campo - SP / Brasil

Richard Andrew Silas (1951–2016)

Willem de Reuse's note: This was one of the 7 fluent speakers of Han Athabaskan, so there are now 6 left.

Richard Andrew Silas was born Nov. 2, 1951, to Charles Silas Sr. and Nancy Malcolm Silas in Eagle. He was the second oldest child of six children born in the family. Dickey was brought up in the Han Gwich'in culture and was a fluent speaker of the Han language. He grew up in Eagle Village all his life and continued to live there a few weeks before his death.

Dickey was an avid hunter, and he was chief of his village at one point in his early years. Despite being underage, he joined the military at 17 because he loved his country and was willing to go to great lengths to keep his family and his country safe. He was deployed into the Vietnam War and served as a helicopter mechanic. He was sent on dangerous missions with no guarantee of return. Many of his comrades felt safe knowing he was aboard during their missions because he was incredibly knowledgeable in his profession. He was known to his family and friends as "Boh' tzou" which means in the Han Gwichin language, "medicine man."

In winter 1978, he met Fanny Williams, of Fort Yukon. He was a little bit older than Fanny but not by much, and their relationship bloomed and in fall 1979, little Samantha Renee was born. Sam was the apple of his eye. He loved and doted on her. She was nicknamed "Klonzi" which means left-handed. Together, Dickey and Fanny raised Sam as their only child. Samantha was raised in unconditional love and family values.

Dickey spent many of his early years helping his father build houses. Sadly, his mother tragically died when Dickey was 9. His grandmother, Sarah Malcolm, took him in and helped raise him while his father continued to provide for the family. Charlie Silas Sr. passed on when Dickey was an adult working in Prudhoe Bay. Grandma Sarah became "mom" and she was addressed as such in daily conversation. Dickey spent a short time in Oklahoma, going to school for small engine airplane mechanic school. He spent a few years in the military before returning to his home village of Eagle. He spent short stints of residency in places like Chicken, Tanacross and Tok. He went to high school in Tok and also in Mt. Edgecombe. In reading transcripts written by Dickie, his words to his daughter were simple:

After November 1960, my father, your grandfather couldn't read, write or go to movies. My mother, his wife, died and he himself went blind, still he taught Junior and I things to survive. We'd had grown up in very many different mining camps during the winter; dad trapped and we moved all the time. I think dad was about 30 and mom was three years younger. I've never been ashamed of our earlier life; we struggled and did things the hard way. We saw the bad, the good, and the hard way of surviving. By God's will I'm still here and no one can tell me different. Dad wasn't strict, but fair. Mom wasn't there. During the time I went to boarding school somehow dad always made sure he sent me my allowance, $20. Things were hard; as of now, I know not to take things for granted. This is only a short story but I love my way of life. Someday you and Charles will see it my way if I walk away. I'd be untrue to my heritage; it's the only way I know. Dad.

Dickey leaves behind his daughter, Samantha Renee, and his two beloved grandchildren, Charles and Viennaetta; his loving aunt, Angela Harper; his former partner, Fanny; brothers William "Bully" and Rick, and family members from Pelly Crossing, Dawson City and Tanacross.
Funeral services in Fairbanks will begin at noon with visitation, and services at 1 p.m. Tuesday, April 19, at St. Mathews Episcopal Church. No potluck will be held as family will be transporting Dickey home to Eagle immediately afterward.

Services in Eagle will begin at noon with visitation and funeral service at 1 p.m. and gravesite service at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 20.
Please visit www.legacy.com/obituaries/newsminer to sign an online guest book.

Published in Daily News-Miner on April 19, 2016. Read more here.

IJAL Editors’ annual report for 2015

IJAL Editors’ annual report for 2015

  

The current make up of editorial boards:

Associate EditorsJohn Alderete (Simon Fraser University)Amy Dahlstrom (University of Chicago)Caleb Everett (University of Miami)Rodrigo Gutiérrez Bravo (Colegio de México)Lisa Matthewson (University of British Columbia)Enrique Palancar (University of Surrey)Siri Tuttle (University of Alaska)Leo Wetzels (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam)Alan C. L. Yu (University of Chicago)Editorial Advisory BoardWillem Adelaar (University of Leiden)Matthew Gordon (University of California—Santa Barbara)Eric Hamp (University of Chicago)Harriet Klein (State University of New York—Stony Brook)Paulette Levy (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México)Steve Marlett (SIL International)Monica Macaulay (University of Wisconsin—Madison)Keren Rice (University of Toronto)David Rood (University of Colorado)We appreciate the hard work of the Associate Editors, and thank everyone for their efforts. Since the work is quite intense, we will generally be asking people to serve three-year terms. This means that we will regularly be seeking new volunteers to take on this role. People who think they might be interested down the road are encouraged to let us know—if not, stand-by to be button-holed.

Our Book Review Editor continues to be Willem de Reuse, and Adam Werle is the Editorial Assistant. Alma Dean Kolb continues as the Managing Editor and keeps the operation afloat.

Submissions and editorial policy:

This year we handled a total of 72 new papers. We have accepted 18 papers this year and rejected 17 (not including papers rejected for being outside the scope of the journal), for a rate of 51% acceptance. There are currently 42 active papers (including 5 from last year) under revision/review.

We continue to be concerned about the length of the production queue, which is still currently around one year from acceptance to publication.

The transition to the Editorial Manager (EM) electronic submission system is complete, though there continue to be a few hiccups from time to time.

State of the journal:

The journal continues to be in good financial shape and goes well from a business perspective. The publisher is happy with us.

The journal now offers on-line purchase of individual articles, and is available for subscribers in HTML format, which is more-or-less readable on mobile devices, and in eBook format for those who want to purchase individual issues. Subscriptions are available at a 50% discount to SSILA members, who can opt to include the subscription in their membership.

The the citation-rates for articles (impact factor) has improved slightly over last year, though we are still well below our highs of a few years back. This might be a concern for contributors from institutions that use these measures in performance evaluations, so please cite our articles as often as you can.

NATS/TILA:

The first volume of the new TILA series was scheduled for production this January, but has been delayed. We hope to release it in July. Because the original publication cycle we set up for this project (approximately 8 months from acceptance to final submission) was short, we slected another volume from the original call for the second issue of TILA. This should be ready to for release in January 2017, with subsequent volumes of TILA appearing regularly along with the first IJAL issue of the year. A call for proposals for TILA went out in late September and we are currently in the process of selecting from among the five submissions received.

The original 12 volumes of the initial NATS. UCPress is are now available in electronic and e-book format. Links to these can be found on the IJAL website (www.americanlinguistics.org).

IJAL Texts On-Line:

We have have now published the first issue of our short texts series, IJAL Texts On-Line. We encourage people to submit shorter texts with audio files for this series. A call for submissions was sent out in late September and another should follow shortly.

IJAL centenary issue:

IJAL will be 100 years old in January, and to mark this event we are planning a special centenary issue. We have invited papers on the past, present, and future of several of the key areas in Americanist linguistics identified by Franz Boas in his inaugural article. We hope this issue will kick off a successful second century.

Revised Call for SSILA Prize and Award Nominations

Revised Call for SSILA Prize and Award Nominations

Revised Deadline, July 15

 The SSILA Executive Committee has recently realized that the Call for SSILA Prize and Award Nominations may not have reached all of you.  As a result, we are extending the deadline for nominations until July 15, 2016.  Details are provided below.  You can also go to our website www.ssila.org for further information.SSILA is pleased to announce a revised call for nominations for the  Ken Hale Prize, the Victor Golla Prize, and the Mary R Haas Book Award.   These awards will be presented at the 2017 SSILA meeting in Austin, Texas.The new deadline for receipt of Nominations for the Hale and Golla Prizes and submissions for the Haas Award is July 15, 2016.  See below for details about these awards:

  1.  Ken Hale Prize

The Ken Hale Prize is presented in recognition of outstanding community language work and a deep commitment to the documentation, maintenance, promotion, and revitalization of indigenous languages in the Americas. The Prize, which carries a $500 stipend, honors those who strive to link the academic and community spheres in the spirit of Ken Hale. Recipients can range from native speakers and community-based linguists to academic specialists, and may include groups or organizations. No academic affiliation is necessary. Nominations may be made by anyone; however, either the recipient or the nominee must be a member of SSILA.Nominations should include:

  1. Letter of nomination, including:

– position and affiliation, if appropriate, of nominee or nominated group (tribal, organizational, or academic)– summary of the nominee’s background and contributions to specific language communities.

  1. Brief portfolio of relevant supporting materials, including for instance:

– nominee’s curriculum vitae– description of completed or on-going activities of the nominee– letters from at least 2 of those who are most familiar with the work of the nominee (e.g. language program staff, community people, academic associates)-other material that would support the nomination.Submission of manuscript-length work is discouraged.The new deadline for receipt of nominations is July 15, 2016.

  1.    Victor Golla Prize

The Victor Golla Prize is presented in recognition of a significant history of both linguistic scholarship and service to the scholarly community.  The linguistic scholarship can take the form of either the documentation or philology of one or more indigenous languages of the Americas, such that the scholarly community knows significantly more about the language or languages of study as a result of that work. The service to the scholarly community can take the form of providing opportunities for others to communicate their work on indigenous languages, primarily through editorial work, conference organization, or responsibility for a major archive. The Prize, which bestows a life membership in SSILA on the recipient, seeks especially to honor those who strive to carry out interdisciplinary scholarship in the spirit of Victor Golla, combining excellent linguistic documentation or philology with scholarship in one or more other allied fields, such as anthropology, education, history, or literature. Nominations must be made by a member of SSILA for a member of SSILA.The nominating package includes the following:

  1. Letter of nomination
  2. A version of the nominee’s CV
  3. two letters of support reflecting the nominee’s scholarship and service.

The new deadline for receipt of nominations is July 15, 2016.

  1.   Mary R Haas Book Award

The Mary R. Haas Award is presented to a junior scholar for an unpublished manuscript that makes a significant substantive contribution to our knowledge of Native American languages. Nominations may be made by anyone; however, the recipient must be a member of SSILA.To submit a manuscript for the Haas Award, send it in PDF format by email to the Executive Secretary so as to arrive no later than June 15th each year. Please verify that it has in fact been received.Manuscripts may be submitted in English, French, German, Portuguese or Spanish.Winning manuscripts in English will be considered by the University of Nebraska Press for its series, “Studies in the Native Languages of the Americas.”For winning manuscripts in languages other than English, the Society will provide letters requesting special consideration by any potential publisher in light of the manuscript’s award-winning status. The new deadline for receipt of submissions is July 15, 2016.Please email ExecutiveSecretary@SSILA.org if you have any questions about the nomination process.Carolyn MacKay, SSILA Executive SecretaryExecutiveSecretary@SSILA.orgSSILA.orgIf you have received this email and are not a current SSILA member, please join the Society at SSILA.org.  SSILA has moved to a rolling membership year.  You may join at any time, and may subscribe to the International Journal of American Linguistics at a substantial discount with your paid membership.  

Submitting Abstracts Using EasyChair for SSILA 2017

Submitting Abstracts Using EasyChair

 The Society for the Study of the Indigenous Languages of the Americas

SSILA 2017

Call for Papers, Posters, and Organized Sessions

 

Deadline for Organized Session Proposals: July 1, 2016

Deadline for abstracts: August 1, 2016

 

Annual Meeting, Austin, Texas

January 5-8, 2017

Abstracts

Submissions for the SSILA Annual Meeting require two abstracts:Short Abstract This abstract should be no more than 100 words, and will be used for publication in the meeting handbook. In EasyChair, you will paste this abstract into the “Abstract” box under the Title and Abstract heading.Long Abstract This abstract is the one that will be evaluated for inclusion in the meeting program. The long abstract should be a pdf file. In EasyChair, you will select the pdf file containing your abstract to upload at the “Long Abstract” prompt under the “Other Information and Uploads” heading.Submissions are limited to one page per abstract (11pt or 12pt, single spaced, with 1-inch margins). References should appear on a second page.

Detailed instructions for using EasyChair

The submission process requires two stages:

  1.  Get your own EasyChair account

2.  Submit your abstract(s) 

Creating an account in EasyChair:

  • Click “sign up” at the top right corner of the page and follow the instructions for entry into the system.
  • Enter your name and e-mail address and click “continue”
  • Check your e-mail: You will receive a message from EasyChair. Follow the instructions there.
  • Make a note of your user name and password for future reference.

Submitting your abstracts:

Go to the SSILA 2017 submission page:https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=ssila2017Log in using the username and password you just established.Click "New Submission". On the page that appears, you will need to identify the author(s), title, keywords, topics, and submission groups of the proposed paper, and submit your short abstract and long abstract (see clarification at the top of this file).

Authors:

Enter the information requested about the author(s):

  • For yourself, you can click the link at the top of the author box to enter the information from your account profile into the form.
  • For co-authors, type in their information.
  • If there are more than three authors, select Click here to add more authors.
  • Use the ‘corresponding author’ checkboxes to select which author(s) will get e-mail from the EasyChair system and the Program Committee.

Title and Abstract and Other Information:

  • Enter the Title of the paper; this must be not more than one 7-inch typed line.
  • Enter the prepublication (short) Abstract. If your paper is accepted, this short abstract will appear in the Meeting Handbook. Cut and paste the abstract into the text box provided. Maximum length is 100 words.
    • [If your short abstract requires special characters, please also send it as a PDF file to the SSILA Executive Secretary at ExecutiveSecretary@SSILA.org.]
  • Enter the keywords (at least 3, up to 5) that apply to your paper. Please include the subareas to which your paper belongs. If your paper is to be considered part of an organized session, include the name of that session as Keyword 1 and check the submission group box for organized session (see submission group below).
  • Under Topics, select the main field of the paper (to be used by the program committee to group papers).
  • Enter the submission group of your application, if appropriate:
    • If you are applying for Travel Assistance, click the box, then go to www.ssila.org and follow instructions for the Travel Assistance Awards
    • If your paper is part of an organized session, click the box, then enter the name of the session as the first Keyword (see above)
    • Submissions will be considered for presentation as papers or posters as scheduling permits. Choose "poster only" if you do not wish to present your research as a paper.

Upload Long Abstract:

  • The long abstract, written according to the guidelines described in the Call for Papers, must be uploaded here.
  • Use PDF format.
  • Use the browse button to select your abstract document.
  • Click Submit

Logout by selecting “Sign out” in the top menu bar.Questions? Please contact conferences@ssila.org if you have any questions about or difficulty with your abstract submission.