On February 21, 2015, NILI will be observing International Mother Language Day, an annual event started in 1999 and formally recognized by the UN General Assembly in 2008. International Mother Language Day is about speaking your mother tongue, and to promote this goal, NILI will be hosting an event on the 21st at the Many Nations Longhouse on the UO Campus. We are creating a space for people to use, learn, and exchange our native languages. We are trying to keep an English-free space but are creating a supportive and inclusive environment.

If you want to participate, come to the Longhouse on Saturday February 21st from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm. If you can’t make it in person, then pledge to speak your mother language on that day. If you’re conversational, try speaking the whole day. If that is too long, try half a day, one hour, or even twenty minutes. If you are new to the language, try just five minutes. You can also ask your family and friends to pledge their time towards your efforts as well. For example, if you plan on speaking for four hours, ask someone to pledge ten minutes towards speaking for every hour you speak. That means four hours for you, and forty minutes for them. Every little bit helps!

For more information about this event, please check out the Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/motherlanguagereclamation.