Northwest Indian Language Institute interim director Robert Elliott, left, and Joana Jansen, associate director of project development and coordination, right, met with GeorGene Nelson, director of the language department for the Klamath Tribes earlier this month.
Northwest Indian Language Institute interim director Robert Elliott, left, and Joana Jansen, associate director of project development and coordination, right, met with GeorGene Nelson, director of the language department for the Klamath Tribes earlier this month.
CHILOQUIN — The Northwest Indian Language Institute (NILI) at the University of Oregon has been supporting Native language programs since 1997. Its mission is to support and strengthen language preservation and revitalization efforts. NILI interim director Robert Elliott and associate director of project development Joana Jansen are currently meeting with tribes from Oregon, Northern California, Washington, and Idaho to conduct a needs analysis. They visited the Klamath Tribes this month to talk with GeorGene Nelson, director of the language department.
NILI was originally founded by representatives from a number of tribal communities around Oregon, Washington, and Northern California. Now the organization is in a transition phase, said Elliott, and working with tribal language programs to outline a clear path moving forward is a priority.
