American Indian History Month panel discussion Thursday at Lab

American Indian History Month at the Lab continues Thursday with a panel discussion titled, “Lost Languages-Dying Culture: Preserving Cultural Diversity through Language,” from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., in the Materials Science Laboratory Auditorium at Technical Area 3.

This year’s American Indian History Month theme is “The Power of Language in Diversity.”

A poster exhibit with information contributed by Lab workers from 30 pueblos and tribes from across the country also is on display through April 30 in the Bradbury Science Museum downtown.

The panel discussion and poster exhibit display are open to all Laboratory workers and the public.

Panelists include Navajo Nation tribal delegate, Amos Johnson; Nambe Pueblo Gov. Tom Talache; and language/cultural preservation teacher, Debra Loretto, Jicarilla-Apache tribe.

Chris Echohawk of Environmental Geology and Spatial Analysis (EES-9), chair of the American Indian Diversity Working Group, encouraged Lab workers to attend the panel discussion. "There are many languages in danger of dying out, and if they do, a major part of the cultures they belong to are also lost," said Echohawk. "The panelists will describe their efforts to save their language and their culture, and the value that they place on culture is something we can all learn from."

A presentation on the cognitive qualities of language is tentatively scheduled for May. It will be co-sponsored by the Deaf Awareness group.

The talk and exhibits are sponsored by the American Indian Diversity Working Group, the Tribal Relations team in the Government Relations (GRO) Office, the Laboratory's Diversity/Affirmative Action Board and the Diversity (DVO) Office.

For more information about American Indian History Month, go to the AIDWG Web site at http://www.lanl.gov/orgs/dvo/aidwg/heritage.shtml online.

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