eLearning the Eyak Language
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A three year Alaska Native Assistance (ANA) grant, this project was a grassroots, community effort to bring back Eyak as a living, spoken language. Under EPC, Project director Laura Bliss Spann and her team spearheaded the organizational effort to find long-term funding for the project. To date, the revitalization efforts have been supported with donations, as well as grants to EPC from the Alaska Humanities Forum, The Eyak Corporation and the Chugach Heritage Foundation.
Guillaume Leduey, a young Frenchman passionate about the Eyak Language, returned to Anchorage and Cordova the summer of 2011 to assist with several Eyak language sessions that took place with great attendance and enthusiasm. This is the first time there has ever been an opportunity or attempt to begin teaching Eyak systematically. Techniques such as Total Physical Response (TPR) and Accelerated Second Language Acquisition (ASLA) have been highly effective in helping new speakers learn a lot about their language in a short time.
Project Director Laura Bliss Spaan says the goal is to give learners the confidence and tools they need to bring their language back into their daily lives. Followup video lessons have been posted to the project's website so new speakers can continue to learn at their own pace.
EPC has been and remains committed to revitalizing Eyak language and culture, and preserving the Eyak wild salmon way of life, and to represent the Eyak people.
Our vision is to see Eyaks speaking Eyak, and to restore a tribal identity. Please help and support this important project!
Eyak Language Project in the News
Eyak Language Workshop scheduled this weekend in Anchorage | June 3, 2011 | Talking Alaska
SAVING EYAK | August 17th, 2010 | The New Yorker