Dr. Anton Treuer, Executive Director of the American Indian Resource Center at Bemidji State University, has been selected by the Society for the Study of the Indigenous Languages of the Americas as the winner of the SSILA’s prestigious 2012 Ken Hale Prize. This prize honors the memory of renowned MIT linguist Kenneth Locke Hale (1934-2001), who worked on languages all over the world but began his career as an Americanist and continued to work on the indigenous languages of the Americas throughout his life. In granting the award, the SSILA looks for an individual or group that exemplifies Hale’s commitment to both linguistic scholarship and service to indigenous language communities. This prize is presented in recognition of outstanding community language work and a deep commitment to the documentation, maintenance, promotion, and revitalization of indigenous languages in the Americas. The prize will be awarded at the annual meeting of the Society in Boston on January 4, 2013, and includes a cash award of $500.00. The SSILA awarded the prize to Dr. Treuer in recognition of his outstanding academic and community work with the Ojibwe language.
Anton Treuer is Editor of the Oshkaabewis Native Journal, the only academic journal of the Ojibwe language and author of 9 books: Everything You Wanted to Know About Indians But Were Afraid to Ask, Ojibwe in Minnesota (“Minnesota’s Best Read for 2010” by The Center for the Book in the Library of Congress), The Assassination of Hole in the Day (Award of Merit Winner from the American Association for State and Local History), Ezhichigeyang: Ojibwe Word List, Awesiinyensag: Dibaajimowinan Ji-gikinoo’amaageng (“Minnesota’s Best Read for 2011” by The Center for the Book in the Library of Congress), Living Our Language: Ojibwe Tales & Oral Histories, Aaniin Ekidong: Ojibwe Vocabulary Project, Indian Nations of North America, and Omaa Akiing. He has a B.A. from Princeton University and a M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota.
Congratulations Dr. Treuer. We were honored to have you speak as part of our “Why Treaties Matter” exhibit and outreach at Riverland Community College last year.