Abstract
Language revitalization requires resources; acquiring resources is aided by visibility; yet the visibility provided by academia is so often insular. This research on language revitalization hoards the necessary resources rather than using them to help communities. This chapter is a dialogue between Inupiaq Elder Richard Atuk and David E.K. Smith, discussing the revitalization of the Kingikmiut dialect and reciprocal research practices. Our conversation is situated in the people, land, and environment of Alaska, which is home to at least 40 distinct Native languages, depending on whom you ask. We focus on the Inupiaq Nunayaaġviŋmi itut language family, which is spoken throughout much of the northern regions of Alaska, and specifically upon the Kingikmiut dialect, which is centered in the village of Wales (Kingigin) at the tip of the Seward Peninsula in northwest Alaska.