Ojibwe scholar Anton Treuer to present Carleton convocation

Anton Treuer, professor of Ojibwe language and culture, will deliver Carleton College’s convocation address on Friday, October 8, from 10:50-11:50 a.m. in Skinner Chapel. In his presentation, “The Language Warrior’s Manifesto: How to Keep Our Languages Alive No Matter the Odds,” he will discuss the close-knit relationship between culture and language, how language loss happens, and how to fight it. 

Treuer is Professor of Ojibwe at Bemidji State University and editor of the Oshkaabewis Native Journal, the only academic journal of the Ojibwe language. While most view English as America’s native tongue, this assumption overlooks the hundreds of indigenous languages spoken before the European settlement. Treuer, one of a growing number of language warriors fighting for the survival of the 150 remaining indigenous languages in America, is leading a revitalized charge to support the Ojibwe language.

A member of the Minnesota Historical Society’s governing board, Treuer was named Guardian of Culture and Lifeways and recipient of the Pathfinder Award by the Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries, and Museums. He is the author of several books, including The Cultural Toolbox: Traditional Ojibwe Living in the Modern World, Everything You Wanted to Know About Indians But Were Afraid to Ask, and The Language Warrior’s Manifesto: How to Keep Our Languages Alive No Matter the Odds. 

Treuer received his BA from Princeton University and his MA and PhD from the University of Minnesota. 

Carleton convocations are free and open to the public. Masks are required. Watch recorded and archived convocations. Convocation is sponsored by Carleton College Events. For more information, including disability accommodations, call (507) 222-4308.