Language Access

Working to ensure that all languages are valued, and made integral to work around the state.

The AKPIRG language access team’s language panelists are educators, elders, and knowledge bearers from around the state. AKPIRG recognizes and uplifts Alaska Native languages and supports this work in all of our communities. The Language Champions do amazing work in many spaces to ensure that Alaska Native languages continue to thrive, and we are so excited to celebrate their work with you.

AKPIRG Language Champions Hall of Fame

Health & Policy Information Equity

In 2020, the Language Access Team worked with the Department of Health and our Language Panelists to produce health information and community messages detailing encouragement and advice for handling the pandemic. You can see the messages created here.
By uplifting Indigenous languages, facts, encouragement, and science through Indigenous knowledge systems, the speakers hope to provide people with trustworthy information needed to make informed decisions.
In particular, providing Elders and first language speakers with information in their language is crucial to ensuring equitable access.
In 2021, our Alaska Native Language panels convened virtually to create culturally-relevant messages about COVID-19 vaccines in eight Alaska Native languages. This work was done in partnership with Native Peoples Action Community Fund, Alaska Department of Health, and Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium. You can see the results here.
The panels were multi-generational, with Language learners, Elders, teachers, and other Language experts. Each panelist contributed their own unique talents–from orthography expertise and technology skills to artistic vision and traditional knowledge–all with the intent of translating important information to be communicated effectively and in a trustworthy manner with care for their communities.

Public Health Messages

Community Language Networks

It is not only vital that information be translated into Alaska Native languages, but it is critical how the translation process is done.
As AKPIRG worked on various language projects, we started recognizing themes across projects; patterns and protocols for building trusting relationships with our language panelists, and creating incredible results.
With the help of our Indigenous Language Translation Consultant, Annauk Olin, we have put together the Alaska Native Language Protocols. You can read the full protocols as well as a short 2-page version here.
In order to make sure translation work is done well, AKPIRG convenes language panels of Alaska Native language experts, Elders, language learners, and culture bearers. These convenings include education, cross-cultural dialogues, and other key components of creating a more connected, thriving language revitalization ecosystem.

Language Protocols

Voting & Elections

In 2020, AKPIRG worked with Yup’ik language experts to produce information about the new Ranked Choice Voting system, linked here.
In addition, our Language Access Team worked with Language Panelists to share messages encouraging their communities to vote. Those messages can be found here.
In 2022, with the partnership of Asian Americans Advancing Justice (AAJC), AKPIRG hired a team of Filipino-American community leaders in Kodiak to distribute information about voting in Tagalog during the 2022 election cycle.
AKPIRG’s Language Access Team convened our Language Panels to translate Census materials, for the first time ever, into eight Alaska Native Languages. This was in order to remove the barriers towards getting an accurate count.
In addition, we created and translated ‘Know Your Rights’ information into 11 world languages. All of this work can be found on Alaska Counts.
With the partnership of Asian Americans Advancing Justice (AAJC), AKPIRG hired a team of Filipino American community leaders in Kodiak to distribute information about voting in Tagalog during the 2022 election cycle.
Learn more here.