The Indigenous Language Legacy Recordings project

The Indigenous Language Legacy Recordings project is a collaboration between the University of Victoria Linguistics Department, UVic Dept of Curriculum and Instruction (Indigeous Education), UVic Libraries, and the Royal BC Museum and Archives. At the foundation of this research proposal are more than 320 hours of audio recordings that were collected by UVic researchers in 1978-79. These field tapes contain rare and valuable language material gleaned from interviews with local First Nations communities including a large number of dialects and languages from language families Salishan, Wakashan, Athapaskan, and Tsimshian. Many of the language found on the recordings are endangered and many are being revitalized by their communities of speakers (see the 2014 Report on the Status of BC First Nations Languages, First Peoples' Cultural Council). This project will make accessible to the language communities and to linguists materials that will be invaluable in language reclamation and in language research. 

For more information about this project, contact Lisa Goddard, Associate University Librarian Digital Scholarship and Strategy;