July 20, 2011
The West Virginia Archives and History Library of the West Virginia Division of Culture and History will host its next after-hours lecture from 6 - 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 2. The session, titled “The Resurgence of Anikituhwa: Language and Cultural Revitalization among the Eastern Band Cherokee,” will be presented by Travis Henline, site manager at West Virginia Independence Hall (WVIH) in Wheeling.
The presentation will concentrate on Henline’s experiences working with the Eastern Band of the Cherokee, with a particular focus on the recent revitalization of its culture, including its language, dances and other traditional practices. Henline says, “In recent years, the Eastern Band of the Cherokee in North Carolina have undertaken efforts to revitalize and preserve their language, and to teach it in their schools, homes and to interested people outside their tribe. This effort stands as a success story for how indigenous languages can be revitalized, preserved and maintain relevance in the 21st century.”
The program will include an introductory lesson in speaking the Kituhwa dialect of the Cherokee language using the Total Physical Response method of teaching second languages, an interactive method that uses non-verbal cues.
The lecture will take place in the archives library at the Culture Center, State Capitol Complex in Charleston. All sessions are free and the public is invited to attend. The library will close at 5 p.m. and reopen at 5:45 p.m., for participants only.
Henline holds a bachelor’s degree in English and anthropology, and recently received a master’s degree in history. Before coming to WVIH, he worked as an interpretive park ranger at Fort Necessity National Battlefield, an interpretive historian at Pricketts Fort, and the manager of public history development for the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. While at Williamsburg, Henline coordinated the American Indian Initiative, a programmatic endeavor to include Native Americans in the history of 18th-century Williamsburg.
Advance registration for the workshop is not required, but is encouraged. To register in advance, contact Bob Taylor, archives library manager, at (304) 558-0230, ext. 163, or by e-mail at Bobby.L.Taylor@wv.gov. Participants interested in registering by e-mail should send their name, telephone number and the name and date of the session. For additional information about the workshop, contact the Archives and History Library at (304) 558-0230.
The Archives and History Library is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Monday through Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, and 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Thursday. The library is closed on Sunday.
The West Virginia Division of Culture and History is an agency within the West Virginia Department of Education and the Arts with Kay Goodwin, Cabinet Secretary. The Division, led by Commissioner Randall Reid-Smith, brings together the past, present and future through programs and services focusing on archives and history, arts, historic preservation and museums. For more information about the Division’s programs, events and sites, visit www.wvculture.org. The Division of Culture and History is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer.
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