“Laxwalxwash Potamáay Súngaan ‘áawq // to be between the Blind Snake’s Teeth”

Shelbi Nahwilet Meissner raises a dilemma for Indigenous communities engaged in language preservation efforts. On the one hand, it seems such efforts can benefit from material aid offered by non-Indigenous peoples (researchers) and institutions (governments, NGOs, and universities) that would otherwise be unavailable. However, on the other hand, often such partnerships come with strings attached, including submitting to stringent externally imposed evaluation criteria and relinquishing control of the Indigenous community’s language materials. It may thus seem as if language preservation efforts will require a loss of linguistic sovereignty on behalf of the language community.