Bowling Green , Ky. - Western Kentucky University will host anthropologist Dr. Heidi Altman, assistant professor of Anthropology at Southern Georgia University, to speak about her activities working with the Cherokee on language revitalization initiatives. 

In her lecture “Native American Languages: A Locus for Cultural, Economic, and Spiritual Revitalization,” Dr. Altman also will address the relationship between language and cultural renewal. She will speak at 7 p.m. Thursday (Nov. 9) at Garrett Conference Center, room 100. Her lecture is free and open to the public.

Dr. Altman has done extensive ethnographic work with the Eastern Band of Cherokee. Her book “Eastern Cherokee Fishing,” in which she examines the relationship between fishing methods and ethnic identity, was released in summer 2006 by University of Alabama Press.

Dr. Altman earned an master’s degree in anthropology and a master’s in English/creative writing from Florida State University. She earned her Ph.D. in linguistic anthropology and Native American Studies from University of California-Davis. 

Dr. Altman’s lecture is part of Native American Heritage Month in Kentucky and is sponsored by WKU Provost’s Initiatives for Excellence, the Department of Folk Studies and Anthropology and the Office of Diversity Programs.

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For information, contact Kate Hudepohl at (270) 745-5842.

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