Indigenous Focus: Indigenous Languages Being Strengthened Throughout Chile (fwd link)

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Indigenous Focus: Indigenous Languages Being Strengthened Throughout Chile

October 19, 2011 | Posted by: Laura Seelau & Ryan Seelau

At the beginning of October, CONADI (the Chilean government’s
department for Indigenous development) put out a press release stating
that they were working with Diaguita communities to develop a plan to
rescue the Kakan language – a language spoken for centuries by the
Diaguita people and, until recently, believed to be largely lost. One
week later, another release talked about how a class of more than 20
Indigenous individuals in northern Chile completed an introductory
class on the Quechua language. Shortly after that, there were reports
about a hospital in Santiago that put up signs in Mapudungun—the
language of the Mapuche people—as part of an intercultural health
initiative. And just a few days ago, a two-day seminar with Indigenous
leaders and government officials took place in order to discuss the
state of Mapudungun in Chile and how its use can be promoted. And of
course, there are countless language initiatives that come from
Indigenous peoples themselves. For example, in November, the Red por
los Derechos Educativos y Lingüísticos de los Pueblos Indígenas de
Chile (Network for Education and Linguistic Rights of Indigenous
Peoples in Chile) will host the Second Congress on Indigenous
Languages in Chile.

Access full article below:
http://ilovechile.cl/2011/10/19/indigenous-focus-indigenous-languages-strengthened-chile/35951