NILIDear NILI Family, Friends and Partners
We are writing to update you on a few changes for NILI going forward. As you probably know, in February 2020 a NILI task force was created by the University of Oregon provost Patrick Phillips to chart a path forward for the institute. The pandemic then struck and the work of the task force continued, but took longer than originally anticipated. In February of this year the task force released their report, and in May the provost sent a letter acting on their recommendations. This email is to update you on the relevant changes that are now taking place.
First and foremost, NILI will continue on as a strong ally for Native tribal language revitalization in Oregon and the Pacific Northwest. Our major endeavors, offices and personnel will remain much as they have been, highlighted by Summer Institute, various collaborative language projects, and a campus “home away from home” for UO Native students and those wanting to gain experience with language revitalization. Organizationally, NILI will now be located within the new School of Global Studies and Languages (SGLS) that is just forming.
NILI faculty Robert Elliott has been appointed by the provost as the new acting director for the next 3 years. As NILI transitions into a new phase, Robert will continue to build on NILI’s strengths and long history of working with tribal partners, while finding new ways to enhance NILI’s mission. As part of the initial transition, Robert will continue to reach out to complement the work the task force started and complete a thorough needs analysis. NILI faculty Joana Jansen and Judith Fernandes will continue serving in their roles. Janne Underriner will be transitioning to a support role for the new acting director and lead on projects vital to the institute.
At this important transition period, a special, heartfelt ‘thank you’ must go out to Janne. Her incredible work and dedication over the past 20 plus years, as a cofounder of NILI and a partner of Native language communities, will undoubtedly leave a legacy far into the future. She has touched the lives of so many, both on campus and in tribal communities around the country. We are lucky to have her continue on in her new role.
We also wish to thank you – the family, friends and partners of NILI – for your patience during these past few years as the pending transition has been developing, as well as for your ongoing support as the new NILI unfolds. We look at this period as a time of opportunity to grow the longstanding partnerships and collaborative work we all are involved in; we also look forward to creating new relationships and finding novel ways to carry our work into the mid 21st century.
Please do not hesitate to reach out to Robert or any of the NILI faculty as we carve a new path.
-The NILI Team
Dear NILI Friends and Family,
This is an exciting time for NILI. One of new leadership and vision. I ask you to welcome with me, Robert Elliott, my long-time colleague, NILI faculty member and friend, as the new director of NILI. I am grateful that the next years will be in his most capable and creative hands.
I never could have imagined what would ensue during the years that followed our first meetings in 1997 and 1998. Across the State and region, we have seen many seeds take root and from those, new seeds have grown across generations. Native youth, as well as adults, are speaking their languages in their daily lives. The number of tribal language teachers is increasing in public schools turning classrooms into nests of language learning. Families are nesting their language in their homes. University classrooms have become extensions into communities for tribal language documentation, preservation, revitalization and cultivation. This was our collective dream twenty-three years ago. Where will today’s dreams take us?
How do I summarize a most meaningful and fulfilled life? I say life, not career, as my work at NILI goes way beyond a career. The people, relationships I have and am blessed to experience and share have contributed fundamentally to how I view the world, to who I am as a person and academic. What is the most valuable thing I have come to learn? That the work we do, we do together for community, youth, the elders. It's for the future as well as the present. It's healing work.
It has been my privilege to have been NILI’s director. I thank each one of you who has given so generously to me over the years. As my granddaughter says, because of you my heart is bigger,
-Janne
