Opinion: Closing the Alaska Native Language Center ends more than a program — it weakens language revitalization

After more than 50 years of service, the Alaska Native Language Center will close its doors this summer, a victim of realigned budget priorities at the University of Alaska. Though few Alaskans may have heard of ANLC, most have likely seen its most iconic output: the Native Peoples and Languages of Alaska Map — a full-color wall map depicting the traditional territories of Alaska’s Indigenous languages. Versions still hang in schools, homes and offices across the state.

The map is no mere work of art. It reflects years of research by ANLC staff in collaboration with Native speakers from Utqiaġvik to Maxłaxaała. Language boundaries are fuzzy things; they can’t be mapped like rivers or detected using GPS. As a state-funded organization dedicated to advancing Native languages, the center was uniquely positioned to undertake this work. Since 1974 the map has been revised and reprinted dozens of times. ANLC has also produced hundreds of Native language publications, from dictionaries to storybooks to audio CDs, all distributed at cost. Thousands of students have taken Native language courses at the center, and many have gone on to lead Native language education programs in their communities.

The Alaska Native Language Center is the product of a forward-thinking Legislature that recognized the significance of Alaska’s unique linguistic heritage. On June 9, 1972, the Legislature passed SB 241 establishing the center to study Native languages, develop literacy materials, disseminate Native language literature and train language teachers. The bill received near-unanimous support in the Senate, including from then-state Sens. Jay Hammond, Willie Hensley and Don Young. Coming close on the heels of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, the founding of the center heralded a major shift in official language policy. After decades of active suppression, Native languages would now be permitted to be taught in schools.

This shift continued over the following decades. Native language courses and degree programs were created. Immersion schools and language “nests” opened across the state. Dozens of Indigenous place names were reclaimed. Alaska Native languages were granted co-official status alongside English.

Of course, this growth in support takes place against a somber backdrop of language loss. By 1972, intergenerational transmission was already declining. Many parents were survivors of boarding schools that physically punished children for speaking Native languages. Still, there are now hundreds of dedicated language advocates working to repair what was broken, to reclaim what was taken. Even the Eyak language, whose last birth speaker passed in 2008, is reawakening with new speakers.

I struggle to understand why the University of Alaska Fairbanks has chosen to end 54 years of state-mandated Native language support. Perhaps the Alaska Native Language Center is the victim of its own success, having built the foundation on which current revitalization efforts stand. But I fear that just as the center’s founding in 1972 signaled a new era of support for Native languages, its closing may bring a new era of neglect. Just as it’s easy to ignore maintenance when your vehicle is running well, it’s easy to forget the foundation that the center provides for ongoing language work across the state.

There will always be those who fear diversity, who view language as a threat. Let us hope this is not their moment. Alaska is often described in superlatives, and this is no less true when it comes to language. Alaska is home to extraordinary linguistic diversity, the birthplace of two of the world’s major language families: Inuit-Yupik-Unangan and Dene. And it is these languages, their speakers and descendants who have given shape to this magnificent land. They deserve our support.

Gary Holton is the former director of the Alaska Native Language Archive.

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