On March 3rd The Eye launched the Lecture Series with a presentation from Ben Levine and Julia Schulz whose work was explored in the September 2012 article by Deborah Van Hoewyk.
Dear Friends of The Eye:
We really enjoyed our presentation on March 3 at the Mansiones Cruz del Mar Theater in Huatulco. It was a treat to talk to such a varied group about our work documenting and saving endangered languages; the conversation was one of the most stimulating we have ever had at a presentation.
We then joined the rest of our team in Totontepec Villa de Morelos in Oaxaca’s Sierra Mixe (Sierra Norte). We are about fifteen people including our linguists, video trainers, and community-member trainees in linguistics and video production. The trainees’ new videos as part of our Community Self-Documentation program are exciting both for their quality and content.
Our favorite is a children’s game where the children pretend to be animals that speak Mixe. It’s so satisfying to see the young children speaking Mixe while their older siblings make such good films. We’ve also been working on the Mixe Dictionary and on the community’s online “community encyclopedia”—Mixe Portal—that will house the videos, dictionary, sound library, and photos and other materials that will be used in language learning and also linking the many Totontepecanos working in distant places in Mexico and the States. The project is a model that gives indigenous communities a resource for stabilizing their language and culture. We’ll send you links to some videos and the Portal soon. And thanks for helping us stay in touch through “The Eye”.
Ben Levine and Julia Schulz, Co-Directors,
Speaking Place, Rockland, Maine 04841 USA