The Myaamia Center has been awarded a $2,100,000 grant from the Mellon Foundation to expand the work of its National Breath of Life Archival Institute for Indigenous Languages.

The grant, announced Monday, Nov. 18, 2024, will enable the expansion of National Breath of Life (BoL) programming in three significant ways:

1. Doubling the size of the Community Archivist Apprenticeship Program
   • The number of apprentices will increase from 10 to 20, to support more Indigenous communities in digitizing, storing, and analyzing language materials
2. Introducing a fellowship program for advanced language revitalization
   • A new fellowship program will support apprentices who are ready to advance by integrating archival materials directly into community language programs. Each fellowship community will gain access to a personalized digital education portal to advance online educational offerings to their communities
3. Enhancing technology and staffing
   • The grant will support the creation of a dedicated full-time technology team in the Myaamia Center that will provide sustainable growth with existing technologies such as the Indigenous Languages Digital Archive (ILDA) and educational portals for community language programs. The expanded team will include developers and a full-time archivist to meet increasing demand, improve platform functionality, and maintain sustainability.

Click here to read more about the grant’s impact