National Park Service Grant: Preserving Tlingit Oral History

OVERVIEW
The purpose of this project is to preserve the linguistic and ethnographic resources associated with an Alaska Native tribe with traditional association to National Park system lands, in this case the Indian River Unit of Sitka National Historical Park. The Service and SHI believe this can best be accomplished by ensuring that oral histories about Tlingit traditional homelands are preserved and transmitted to community members and park visitors.STATEMENT OF JOINT OBJECTIVES/PROJECT MANAGEMENT PLAN
The NPS and SHI jointly desire to foster ongoing language and cultural practice among Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian peoples, and to provide an understanding and appreciation for their rich cultural heritage among park visitors. Through the transcription and translation of Tlingit oral histories, both the NPS and SHI seek to continue implementing a long-held mutual effort to preserve and foster the use of Native Southeast Alaska language to perpetuate and preserve their culture. This effort enriches the cultural experience of visitors to Sitka National Historical Park by making selected Tlingit stories available to a new generation of Native peoples which can be more broadly shared with the visiting public.RECIPIENT INVOLVEMENT
This Agreement enables the NPS to fund Sealaska Heritage Institute to augment the linguistic and cultural programs in support of the NPS desire to promote tribal language vitality. Through this agreement, the SHI will recruit trained Tlingit speakers to translate, transcribe, and interpret oral histories, thereby enhancing these practices among Native peoples, developing materials that will preserve and expand existing knowledge of the language, and sharing the products with the community and visitors.

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE INVOLVEMENT
Substantial involvement on the part of the National Park Service is anticipated for the successful completion of the objectives to be funded by this award. In particular, the National Park Service will be responsible for the following:
Train SHI language experts in National Park Service oral history principles and methods and provide a general introduction to NPS and SITK history and mission. Designate a liaison from the SITK Resource Division to collaborate with SHI on the scheduling of transcriptions and translations. Coordinate with SHI on the transcription and translation of oral histories, as well as interviewing available Tlingit individuals who can explain and further describe the stories contained in the oral histories. Consult with the SHI liaison on a monthly basis or as needed throughout the life of the project to evaluate the project¿s progress and address any problems that may arise. Complete, in conjunction with the SHI representative, a formal review of the project at its completion. The review will address, among other topics, management challenges, the quality of transcription and translation work, and the extension of the oral histories into interpretive products. Develop appropriate outreach opportunities related to the transcriptions and translations in coordination with the SHI representative, and clarify the intellectual property rights and copyright statuses of the interviews and content.SINGLE-SOURCE JUSTIFICATION:Department of the Interior Policy (505 DM 2) requires a written justification which explains why competition is not practicable for each single-source award. The justification must address one or more of the following criteria as well as discussion of the program legislative history, unique capabilities of the proposed recipient, and cost-sharing contribution offered by the proposed recipient, as applicable.Unique Qualifications
Single Source Justification Description: Sealaska Heritage Institute has an award-winning Tlingit language program that pairs fluent speakers with apprentice language learners. It is the only program that dedicates years of time and effort to training speakers and encouraging Tlingit communities to speak in their native language.Technical contact information: Brinnen Carter, brinnen_carter@nps.gov, 907-747-0140, National Park Service, Alaska Region,
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