Alaska Native Language Center Stays Open, Debunking Rumors

0:00Anchorage stories, making news on March 19. Rumors have been swirling on social media about the Alaska Native Language Center at the University of Alaska Fairbanks shutting down or cutting. Services by university officials say that's not true at all. The misinformation seems to stem from an opinion piece in the Anchorage Daily News last Friday by Gary Holton, which now includes a correction. Clarifying the center is staying open. Dean Tacia Simmons of the College of Indigenous Studies was caught off guard by the buzz just like everyone else, and she gets why people would be. Upset if it were real. The center works to document, preserve, and teach Alaska Native languages with a small team of three staff, a shared assistant, and some faculty. Simmons made it clear there's no threat to jobs or funding right now. The college has poured hundreds of thousands of dollars into the center lately, and this year's budget is holding steady. She also shot down specific online claims, like no ubiquity, no DNA language classes, or the language archive closing, all false.

1:05Looking ahead, the team is applying for $100,000 to update the outdated archive and make it more user friendly. Plus, they hope to expand by offering workshops to folks outside academia who want to learn these languages. The Daily News Now is grateful to our sponsor for today's episode. Your pillow just got smarter. It plays your podcast in music, S-O-L-I, solelypillow.com.