Language: The Heart of Our Culture

Language: The Heart of Our Culture raises issues about the endangered status of Native American languages today. Highlighting the work of Tlingit linguists Nora and Richard Dauenhauer, this video explores different perspectives on the significance of speaking one's own Native American language today. Though language competency in many communities is endangered, in others fluency is strong. Examples include Tlingit, Diné (Navajo), and Pueblo languages (Hopi, Tewa, and Towa). About the project: Penn Museum's Native American Voices Video project, completed in 2011, was conducted over fourteen months with support from the Annenberg Foundation and Gregory Annenberg Weingarten. The project resulted in the creation of Postindian Warriors: Creating A New Consciousness in Native America, five short videos about contemporary Native America for inclusion in the long-term exhibition, Native American Voices: The People - Here and Now. Five 8 minute films were produced to highlight important themes that emerged from the discussions.