Lance Twitchell in Juneau Empire

Lance Twitchell has a beautifully-written editorial in yesterday's Juneau Empire. Twitchell, or Xh'unei in Tlingit, is Assistant Professor of Alaska Native Languages at University of Alaska Southeast and has been working to revive Tlingit and other Southeast languages. In his editorial he boils down the complex issues surrounding language revitalization to just two questions: "Who will speak? Who will listen?" The piece ends on a very inspirational note:

"We have talked about language revitalization in our region, but we are not there yet. It will take a sea change among our communities, organizations, and individuals. It will take unity like we have not yet realized. It will take partnerships that leave the self behind. We will discover that we are all human beings, and that connections to each other, our land, and our ancestors will make every one of us stronger. We have incredible power and we will learn how to use it. 

Speak. Listen. Do it every day. Change the future and the world."

Read the entire article.