The Athabascan Languages Conference brings together linguists, speakers, educators and policy makers from across the Athabascan region. Over the past two decades this conference has become the principal forum in which members of geographically distant, but culturally and intellectually related, Athabascan communities can compare notes and learn from each other.

The 2003 Athabascan Language Conference will be held at Humboldt State University, Arcata, California on June 5-7. A morning session on June 5th will open two days of general sessions. The meeting will conclude on Saturday morning, June 7, with a separately organized session on "Morphological Change and Comparative Work in Athabascan Languages."

This year's Conference is being organized by the Center for Indian Community Development at Humboldt State University, in cooperation with the Athabascan peoples of California and Oregon. Although less well known than the Athabascans and Dene of Alaska, Canada and the Southwest, the Athabascans of northern California and southern Oregon are important parts of the Native population of their area. Their traditional languages also represent a significant component of the diversity of the Athabascan language family. At least eight distinct languages or dialects were originally spoken along the rivers of northwestern California, including Hupa, Chilula, Mattole, Sinkyone, Nongatl, Lassik, Wailaki, and Cahto. Several other languages were spoken in coastal and inland areas of southwestern Oregon, including Upper Coquille, Tututni, Chetco, Chasta, Coasta, Galice, and Applegate. The closely related Tolowa language was spoken along the Smith River and adjacent coast just south of what is now the California state line. The descendents of these diverse groups are represented today by several federally recognized tribes: the Hoopa Valley Tribe; the Bear River Band of Rohnerville Rancheria; the Round Valley Tribes; the Cahto Tribe of Laytonville Rancheria; the Smith River and Elk Valley Rancherias; and (in Oregon) the Confederated Tribes of the Siletz Reservation.

General Sessions

For the general sessions, papers and presentations on any aspect of Athabascan structure, history, and language education are welcome. Presentations that focus on the conference theme, "Adaptation and Change in Athabascan Languages", will be especially welcome, and at least one session will be focused on such topics as innovation in vocabulary, the influence of English, and changes in language function.

Special Session

A special session on Morphological Change and Comparative Work in Athabascan Languages is being organized by Dagmar Jung djung@uni-koeln.de and Keren Rice rice@chass.utoronto.ca. The aim of the session is to exchange research results and stimulate new work in the field of diachronic studies within the Athabascan language family. Especially welcome are papers on historical morphology. Topics may include morphological change within one language or within a whole language group. Investigations of historical changes that have led to the restructuring of grammatical categories are of special interest. Since within the last few years new Athabascan data has become available, this special session may also result in a reevaluation of Athabascan dialect and language relationships. For further information contact the organizers.

Mailing List

If you would like to receive future announcements regarding the conference, you may subscribe to the ALC-L email list.