STUDENTS OF NATIVE AMERICAN LANGUAGES INVITED TO REGISTER FOR LANGUAGE FAIR

Students of Native American languages from preschool to high school age are encouraged to enter the sixth annual Oklahoma Native American Youth Language Fair, scheduled for Monday, March 31 and Tuesday, April 1 at the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History at the University of Oklahoma. Participants of all ages may demonstrate their language skills as groups or individuals in the spoken language and language with music or dance categories. Other competition categories include poster art and book-making categories, open to grades three through 12; film/video category open to sixth- through 12th-graders; and a language advocacy essay category open to students in grades nine through 12. New this year is a Language Masters Performance category, open to ninth- through 12th-graders, that will showcase the language skills of students who have grown up speaking a Native American language.

The competition draws more than 600 participants from across Oklahoma as well as neighboring states who compete in as many as 27 Native American languages. Pre-K through fifth-grade competitions will take place on Monday, March 31, and sixth- through 12th-grade competitions on Tuesday, April 1. The top three award-winners in each age group and category will receive a trophy that can be displayed at their school or tribal center. Every student who participates will receive a medallion and Language Fair T-shirt.

A panel of elders and teachers from several different tribes will judge the language performance and spoken language competitions. Native artists will judge the posters based on creativity and use of this year’s theme, “Language Lives in Laughter,” which is a celebration of Native American trickster themes used in storytelling and the American tradition of April Fool’s Day. In addition, Native authors will judge the book competition.

"Native languages are vanishing at an alarming rate,” said Language Fair director Mary Linn, curator of Native American Languages at the museum, “but the younger generations are working hard to learn their languages and continue their traditions. Learning a language can make us feel vulnerable at times. This is the trickster at work—playing with us but leading us to new knowledge.”

Registration forms and additional information are available online at the museum’s Web site: www.snomnh.ou.edu. Deadline for registration is Wednesday, March 5. To have forms sent by mail, or for additional information, participants may contact the museum’s Native American Languages department at (405) 325-7588 or by e-mail at ONAYLF@snomnh.ou.edu. The 2008 Oklahoma Native American Youth Language Fair is made possible, in part, by the Boeing Company.

The Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History is located on the OU Norman campus. Additional information about the museum is available by calling (405) 325-4712 or on the Web at www.snomnh.ou.edu.
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