History of Native American Languages Subject of Talk

On June 16th at 6:00 p.m. at Kearney Hall, the FPK/BTA (Fort Phil Kearny/Bozeman Trail Association) will present, A History of Native American Languages and Introduction to the Arapaho Language: Presentations by Professor Andrew Cowell, University of Colorado, and Wayne C’Hair, member of the Northern Arapaho Language and Culture Commission, and a native speaker of Arapaho.

The speakers will discuss the significance, history, and the cultural impact of Native American languages are as vast as the territory where they were once spoken.

Cowell is the chair of the University of Colorado Department of Linguistics. One of his main research interests is the indigenous languages of the Western U.S., and he directs the Center for the Study of Indigenous Languages of the West (CSILW). He has published extensively on Arapaho, and also works on Gros Ventre, Arapaho, and Miwok.

His interests include both formal linguistics and linguistic anthropology, and he is also involved with language preservation work in the field of endangered languages.

The program it is free and open to the public, and was partially funded by the Johnson County Tourism Association and Wyoming Humanities.

Two other upcoming programs from Fort Phil Kearny will be a Tour of Fetterman Battlefield on June 18 from 1-3 with historian Bob Wilson. Attendees will meet at the Fort at 1 p.m.

What to learn how to pack a horse like the soldiers did? Come observe and discover how to pack a saddle on a live horse in this 30 minute program on June 20 at 1 and 2 p.m. Site admission will apply.

For more information contact fpkbta@gmail.com