3-Day Virtual Conference and Sharing Circle on Indigenous Languages in the Times of Climate Change

July 12, July 16 and July 19, 2024

Register via this link.

Indigenous languages are important indicators of our planet’s state of biodiversity. The UN estimates that by 2100, more than half of the world's languages will become sleeping languages, with most of them being Indigenous languages. Climate change is among the many reasons for the loss of languages and biodiversity.

This conference is a joint effort between the Department of Anthropology at the University of Victoria BC, the Department of Sociology at the Toronto Metropolitan University and Cultural Survival, a non-profit dedicated to defending the human rights of Indigenous Peoples. The goal of this conference is to engage in a focused discussion about the impacts of climate change on the state of Indigenous languages. Through this discussion, we want to address key questions about how climate change impacts and transforms the resiliency of Indigenous languages, what new terminology is developed under the pressures of climate change, and how new solutions are created within Indigenous languages to address climate change.

The conference will gather Indigenous knowledge keepers from diverse regions who are currently witnessing and experiencing the impacts of climate change. We invite the stewards of Indigenous lands and waters who are on the frontlines of climate change to share their voices, stories, observations, and ideas.

Day 1: July 12, 11pm EST, 7pm Alaska time, 8pm Pacific time

In Europe: Saturday, July 13, 5am CEST, 6am Moscow

Theme: Climate change, resiliency, and new terminology

The knowledge-sharing will be centered around climate change and Indigenous language resiliency. We invite participants to think through the connections between climate change, biodiversity, and Indigenous languages. How do Indigenous language vocabularies respond to the changing environment? What new words, concepts, and terminology are created, and which concepts that are rooted in the past come in handy in addressing climate change challenges?

Keynote speakers:

• Aresta Tsosie-Paddock, Navajo Nation, Arizona
• Manuhuia Barcham, Māori, Aotearoa 
• Vyacheslav Shadrin, Yukagir, Sakha (Yakutia)
   

Day 2: July 16, 11am EST, 7am Alaska time, 8am Pacific time

5pm CEST, 6pm Moscow time

Theme: Loss of species, loss of words

The story sharing will be focused on the links between climate change and language loss. What trends are observed in our Indigenous communities? How does climate change impact Indigenous languages in a broader sense (aspects of culture, medicine, ceremonies, etc.)?

Keynote speakers:

• Lynn Konwaia’tanón:we’s Jacobs, Haudenosaunee Confederacy, Kahnawà:ke
• Nataliya Izhenbina, Selkup, Siberia
• Shem Rose Qagughruk Koonooka, St. Lawrence Island Yupik, Alaska
   

Day 3: July 19,  11am EST, 7am Alaska time, 8am Pacific time

5pm CEST, 6pm Moscow time

Theme: Climate change, Indigenous languages, and new solutions

This sharing circle will focus on the examples of Indigenous languages’ contributions to addressing climate change and environmental challenges. What is the role of Indigenous languages in developing and planning for climate solutions?

Keynote speakers:

• Roza Laptander, Nenets, Siberia
• Daanis Pelletier, Anishinaabe, Fort William First Nation
• Loreisa Lepine, lək̓ʷəŋən, Victoria BC

This will be a bilingual conference in English and Russian. Each day of the conference will have three keynote speakers followed by sharing circle discussions. As a final outcome of this gathering, we envision developing a published narrative that will present a collection of stories shared during the three meetings.

We kindly invite you to share this invitation with your friends, relatives, communities, and organizations to register via this link. We are looking forward to fruitful story sharing and discussions and invite everyone to join this critical conversation.