As we look ahead to the next round of micro-grants, we warmly invite you to take a moment to read this blog post titled "MCIS Awarding Micro-Grants of Up to $20,000 to Language Advocates". While the previous post highlights the meaningful contributions of all the past winners in the field of language advocacy, read on to find out more information on the winner of the $10,000.
Empowering Language Advocates: MCIS Awarded $20,000 in Micro-Grants
In 2024, MCIS Language Solutions awarded three micro-grants totaling $20,000 during the Language Keeper Hackathon, held alongside Canadian Language Advocacy Day. This event united industry experts, technologists, linguists, policymakers, and advocates to tackle language challenges, highlighting MCIS's commitment to a linguistically inclusive society. In this post, we will be covering the winner of the Language Keepers Microgrant.
Highlighting the Winner
The top prize of $10,000 was awarded to the project "Documenting Historical Kanyen’kehá:ka Landscape Knowledge," led by Rebekah R. Ingram and Thohahènte of Geolinguistics. This project aimed to preserve and document the linguistic, cultural, ecological, and historical knowledge of the Kanyen’kehá:ka (Mohawk) people’s traditional landscapes. Utilizing earth observation technologies and the Nunaliit mapping platform, the team captured multimedia information paired with stories from first-language speakers to create a comprehensive Atlas for cultural, historical, and educational purposes. This initiative not only supported language and cultural revitalization but also ensured that this vital Indigenous knowledge was passed down to future generations.
"We wanted to do something with that really young adult generation first. Then there was a young man there and he was just like, he was so interested in being with the speakers and learning about everything that they knew. And so he came as well. And that actually ended up being probably the best decision I could have made. And I say that because it wasn't just the documentation part and it wasn't just kind of watching him sponge this knowledge. It was the fact that it showed me exactly what needs to happen in the future" -- Dr. Rebekah Ingram
You can watch the highlights of the project here, from Rebekah herself.
Join the Movement
We are proud to share that MCIS’s micro-grants have played a vital role in supporting community initiatives aimed at preserving Indigenous languages, assisting newcomers, and improving healthcare communication, positively impacting countless lives.
Stay tuned for the next opportunity! A new micro-grant will be coming out soon, offering another chance to support and celebrate language advocacy in your community.