About CoLang

Since 2008, CoLang, the Institute on Collaborative Language Research (formerly known as the Institute on Field Linguistics and Language Documentation, or InField), has taken place every two years. This institute offers training in current language documentation techniques and collaborative practices. CoLang's reputation as an internationally recognized, leading training institute brings together experts in language documentation, community-based research, and language revitalization who offer workshops and practica to students (undergraduate and graduate), community activists, academic linguists, community linguists, and community leaders seeking focused training in the latest techniques.

CoLang has been hosted at a variety of academic institutions throughout the United States, including University of California, Santa Barbara (2008), University of Oregon (2010), University of Kansas (2012), University of Texas at Arlington (2014), University of Alaska, Fairbanks (2016), University of Florida
(2018), University of Montana (2022, postponed from 2020 as a result of the pandemic), and Arizona State University (2024).

The Importance of CoLang in Nevada

Each iteration of CoLang has reflected the character of the place in which the institute occurred. Because of its connection with and support of Indigenous epistemologies, the fact that CoLang draws from the cultures of the traditional people of the area reinforces for participants and local community partners the value of Indigenous knowledge systems.

CoLang 2026 will take place at the University of Nevada, Reno. Reno is in the northwestern part of the Greater Basin, at the edge of the Sierra Nevada mountain range, with proximity to the world-renowned Lake Tahoe (Dáʔaw, on Washoe homelands) and Pyramid Lake (Kooyooe’e Pa’a Panunadu, on Numu homelands). We will engage with the natural and cultural richness of the region by incorporating field trips in the area, inviting speakers and performers from the area, a workshop focused on Nevada linguistic communities and practica based on local Indigenous languages.

For CoLang 2026, we aim to broaden participation from multiple tribal communities. Nevada is home to 21 federally recognized tribes (consisting of 28 reservations, bands, colonies, and community councils). The primary campus of UNR sits on the traditional homelands of the Wašiw (Washoe) and Numu (Northern Paiute) peoples, with satellite locations throughout the state of Nevada, including those that sit on the traditional homelands of the Newe (Western Shoshone) and Nuwu (Southern Paiute) peoples. Given that collaboration, inclusivity, and outreach are among the guiding principles of CoLang, we will be as broadly inclusive of local tribes as possible, including tribes not only from Nevada but also from the nearby states of California, Oregon, and Idaho. Thus, we offer a model for other academic institutions seeking collaborative work with a variety of different local tribes.

honoring our future mural at the university of nevada

Given the often-exploitative relationship that academia has had with Indigenous peoples, we seek to center Indigenous concerns in collaborations between the university and tribal communities. We have begun to and will continue to offer as many tribal communities in the region as possible a variety of opportunities to be involved at a level that feels appropriate for each community. Among the opportunities for tribes’ involvement in CoLang 2026 are participation in the institute as workshop/practicum facilitators or as students and participation in plenaries, cultural events, and opening/closing ceremonies. In this way, we will work towards inclusive and expansive Indigenous participation that honors tribal sovereignty. This goal is based on our current commitments to local tribes to respect and foster their interests, needs, and priorities.

CoLang 2026 will offer hands-on and theoretical training opportunities with the aim of contributing to practice and theory. Participants will emerge with a stronger set of practical skills for doing language work such as documentation, teaching and resource development. Participants will also emerge with knowledge of broader theoretical frameworks in linguistics, anthropology, Indigenous studies, and education that provide intellectual grounding for the practical work. Because of participants' in-depth engagement with both theory and practice, CoLang enriches both community-based language efforts and scholars working in conventional academic settings through meaningful exchange of knowledge, skills and perspectives.

Objectives of CoLang 2026

As CoLang 2026 will build on the insights and success of previous iterations of the institute, we based our objectives on those articulated in the CoLang/InField Institute Charter:

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Providing training for both academic linguists and community scholars in documentation, maintenance, revitalization, and renewal of endangered, Indigenous, and/or minoritized languages.

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Facilitating ethical collaborations between academic and community language scholars.

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Promoting best practices for language research and resource creation by, for, and with local language communities.

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Sustaining and promoting language diversity through creating resources on under-described languages and providing opportunities for community-based language activists to develop skills that support their work.

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Advocating locally and globally for support of endangered, Indigenous, and/or minoritized languages.

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Advancing linguistic theory by supporting the creation and sharing of linguistic resources informed by diverse conceptualizations of language and language work.

Principles of CoLang 2026

These objectives are grounded in principles of collaboration, inclusivity, accessibility, outreach, and advocacy – principles that inform all aspects of our design and implementation. Following the guidelines in the CoLang Charter, these principles will be in evidence at CoLang 2026 through the following:

Collaborative learning: Participants and facilitators are teaching and learning together.
Collaborative teaching: Workshops, practica and plenaries informed by multidisciplinary, Indigenous and non-Indigenous expertise.
Collaborative research: Participation at every level by community members in all types of scholarship engaged in during CoLang.
Inclusivity: Participation of facilitators and students from a wide variety of backgrounds, including international, Indigenous, academic and non-academic participants at all levels.
Accessibility: Creation of accessible resources that removing barriers to language documentation.
Outreach: Connection of academic and community language scholars through existing and new networks to foster collaborative training events and wider dissemination of the products of language documentation and revitalization.
Advocacy: Promoting language initiatives that support communities whose languages are endangered or minoritized.
Recognition: Recognition of the land and the peoples of the land on which CoLang takes place, through course offerings, land acknowledgments, and inclusion of local communities.

Local Organizing Committee

Meet the Local Organizing Committee (LOC), the team of organizers who will bring you CoLang 2026 at the University of Nevada, Reno.

Meet the LOC