The Native American Philology Model of the National BoL is built around three training modules designed to respond to different stages of archives-based revitalization work and articulated through a basket weaving metaphor.

• Module 1 training assists Community Researchers with gathering archival materials relevant to community revitalization objectives.
• Module 2 training assists Community Researchers with processing of digital archival materials utilizing the Indigenous Languages Digital Archive (ILDA) software suite.
• Module 3 training will focus weaving archival materials into community language programs.

Training Module 1

National BoL Module 1 training has focused on assisting tribal communities in accessing archival collections in repositories around the United States. Participants also receive training in the fundamentals of linguistics for the analysis of data and the use of archival documentation.

More recently, the National BoL has developed free, asynchronous online training modules that Community Researchers can take at their own pace. This self-directed Module 1 training is available at any time and is free of charge. You can find more information and instructions about how to sign up here.

In the past, National BoL Module 1 training has focused on assisting tribal communities in accessing the extensive archival collections at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Anthropological Archives (NAA) of the National Museum of Natural History, the National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) and the Library of Congress and in using them for language revitalization. During a two-week hands-on workshop, community members are partnered with a trained linguist, and together navigate Smithsonian and Library of Congress archives and collections, locate and acquire documents, interpret writing systems, and transform archival materials into practical lessons for language learning. Participants also received training in the fundamentals of linguistics for the analysis of data in the archival documentation. National BoL workshops in 2011, 2013, 2015, and 2017 utilized this in-person training model. There are currently no planned in-person National Breath of Life module 1 workshops.

Training Module 2

National BoL Module 2 training is designed to build capacity around advanced archives-based research for language revitalization. Module 2 training focuses on the management of digital archival collections and advanced linguistic analysis of data for language revitalization to community researchers who already possess archival materials.

Module 2 training centers on the use of the Indigenous Languages Digital Archive (ILDA) , a freely available software suite that allows for the organization, storage and retrieval of digital copies of linguistic archival materials. ILDA directly links independent data derived from linguistic analysis to the original manuscript pages. Its powerful search function allows for rapid recall of language data and the in-depth linguistic analysis required for the reconstruction of a highly endangered or sleeping language.

A training workshop was held in 2019 at the Myaamia Center at Miami University. A second workshop was hosted by the Northwest Indian Language Institute and the Language Revitalization Lab at the University of Oregon.

There are currently no planned National Breath of Life Module 2 workshops. Module 2 content is available partially through instructional videos hosted on the National BoL YouTube Channel, as well as through one-on-one consultation, and apprenticeships.

Training Module 3

Module 3 training will focus on advanced archival development and implementation into community language programs. Following the analogy with basket weaving, we think of future Module 3 training, as the weaving of the language from the archival materials into a community basket of language use and learning as. This will be the focus of future development in National BoL.