CORVALLIS, Ore. – Bud Lane, tribal council vice-chairman with the Confederated Tribes of Siletz, will speak at Oregon State University’s Gilfillan Auditorium on Wednesday, April 29, beginning at 6 p.m.

Lane, who also is the tribe’s language and traditional arts instructor, will speak on “A Discussion of the History and Status of the Athabaskan Language” as part of an ongoing series on Native American philosophies. The event is free and open to the public.

Lane has been directly involved for many years in revitalizing the coastal Athabaskan language. Although coastal Athabaskan historically had been the dominant language on the Siletz Reservation, by the early 1970s a severe decline began as elder speakers died. This decline became a concern for the Siletz, and in the early 1990s tribal members began to document and teach the language and Lane was a key part of this effort.

He teaches community language classes in the four Siletz tribal area offices, as well as at Siletz Valley School, and works with the Siletz Head Start program.

Lane is working on a coastal Athabaskan Talking Language Dictionary, which will be Web-based.

Source: 

Kurt Peters,
541-737-5668

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