Date of Award

1-1-2014

Document Type

Masters Thesis

Degree Name

M.A.

Organizational Unit

College of Arts Humanities and Social Sciences

First Advisor

Christina Kreps, Ph.D.

Second Advisor

Richard Clemmer-Smith

Third Advisor

Annette Stott

Fourth Advisor

James LaVita

Keywords

Alaska native languages, Collaborative networking, Intangible cultural heritage, Museums, Revitalization, Smithsonian Arctic Studies Center

Abstract

With the ever-increasing risk of language loss and possible extinction of the world's Indigenous languages, museums are quickly becoming active supporters and valuable resources for communities engaged in revitalization initiatives. Although working with language material is inherently difficult for museums because of their traditionally object based nature, it is imperative for museums to focus on the documentation and preservation of language as intangible cultural heritage (ICH) because of the vital connection between language and culture. This thesis examines how museums in Alaska, particularly the Smithsonian Arctic Studies Center, Alaska Office, are supporting Alaska Native language and cultural revitalization through collaborative networks and the adoption of methodologies to successfully develop and implement language-based programming.

Publication Statement

Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.

Rights Holder

Heather J. McClain

Provenance

Received from ProQuest

File Format

application/pdf

Language

en

File Size

209 p.

Discipline

Museum studies, Language, Cultural anthropology

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