From Huehuetla to Turtle Island: a collaborative model for Indigenous language preservation and revitalization
Supporting Indigenous language preservation through community collaboration and an accessible, multilingual digital resource
Rita Palacios, School of Interdisciplinary Studies
About the project
Researcher Rita Palacios from Conestoga’s School of Interdisciplinary Studies collaborated with community members in Huehuetla, Hidalgo, Mexico, on the Lhima’alh’ama’ Project. The initiative supports the preservation of Lhi’ma’alh’ama’, also known as Huehuetla Tepehua, through the development of a living dictionary focused on common medicinal plants.
The challenge
Lhi’ma’alh’ama’ is an endangered Indigenous language spoken by the Ma’alh’ama people of Huehuetla. With fewer than 1,600 speakers, many of whom are over 40, preserving linguistic knowledge and making it accessible to future generations is increasingly important.
Approach
- Collaborated with community members in Huehuetla to gather language and cultural knowledge
- Collected lexical lists, photographs, and audio recordings
- Edited and organized community-contributed materials
- Developed a multilingual dictionary focused on common medicinal plants
- Incorporated multimedia elements to preserve pronunciation and provide additional cultural context
Results
- Created a living digital dictionary incorporating text, audio, and photographs
- Made resources available in Lhi’ma’alh’ama’, Spanish, and English
- Documented language associated with common medicinal plants
- Published the dictionary under a Creative Commons licence to encourage access and continued contribution
- Created a resource that can continue to grow alongside community language preservation efforts
Why it matters
- Supports the preservation and revitalization of an endangered Indigenous language
- Helps make linguistic and cultural knowledge accessible to future generations
- Centres community knowledge and participation in language documentation
- Uses multimedia to preserve more than written definitions alone
- Creates an open resource that can support continued language learning and research