2013 Dene Languages Conference announcement

[Andrea Wilhelm]

Dear all:
Please take note of this conference announcement, hot off the presses, and also circulate to your respective contacts. Thank you!
Andrea (Linguistics, U Alberta & U Victoria)

 
Conference Announcement and Call for Papers:  (Please circulate widely, with apologies for double postings.)

Dàdànast’á-dà! Hóɂą! Welcome!
The 2013 Dene (Athabaskan) Languages Conference will take place June 12-14, 2013, on the pow-wow grounds of the Tsuu T'ina Nation just outside of Calgary, Canada. This is the only conference in North America that focuses specifically on Dene (Athabaskan, Na-Dene) languages and communities, and has Dene from all over North America in attendance.
            The theme of this year's conference is "Dene Drum and Discourse". It expresses the idea that language is intimately connected with its social and cultural setting. In many Dene communities, drumming represents one practice in which all of these related elements – language, culture, and social interaction – come together, and where the sharing of language and culture with younger generations has often been particularly successful. The conference will feature performances by Dene drum groups who span the entire Dene territory from north to south. These groups will also talk about their cultural and language work. The rest of the conference will consist of presentations on language maintenance and revitalization, language and linguistic studies, and more presentations on drums and drumming.
            We invite you all to come – Elders, youth and other community members, teachers, speakers and learners, linguists and other academics.
 
Preliminary Program:
June 12: "Language maintenance and revitalization" - reports by community members, teachers, linguists, activists
June 13: "Drum" - the drum and drumming in its different Dene manifestations, connection to language (e.g., groupings within the Na-Dene family), connection to language/culture maintenance and revitalization, language and culture
June 14: "Discourse" - language and linguistic studies, from sounds to the transmission of meaning, with a focus on language in context and meaning in language

We invite presentations on all three days. Please submit your abstract to:
deneconference2013 at gmail.com
or
Dene Languages Conference 2013, 4-32 Assiniboia Hall, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada T6G 2E7. Fax: (780) 492-0806
 
Abstract guidelines:
Please provide an overview of the presentation you plan to make, on no more than one 8.5x11 page, in a font no smaller than 11point. Include examples and references as required. If possible, send your abstract as a PDF document.
Presentations will be chosen from the abstracts submitted, based on relevance, and soundness of argument.
 
Abstract deadline: April 1, 2013

Conference accommodation:
There are hotels, B&B’s and motels in nearby Cochrane, Bragg Creek, and Calgary. Camping on the fully equipped pow-wow campground is free for conference participants. A list of hotels will soon be posted.
 
Watch the conference website for updates:  http://deneconference2013.wordpress.com/   OR   http://www.uaf.edu/alc/ (and click on the "2013 Conference Website" link)

Questions:
deneconference2013 at gmail.com
or
Dene Languages Conference 2013, 4-32 Assiniboia Hall, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada T6G 2E7. Fax: (780) 492-0806, Tel. (780) 492-3434.

Conference hosts and organizers:
Tsuu T'ina Nation, Cold Lake First Nations, University of Alberta