Digital Heritage Initiative

Preserving Languages of the Arctic Circle for Future Generations

PolarLangVault curates words, voices, and cultural artistry from communities stretching across the circumpolar north. Explore immersive archives designed to keep endangered languages vivid and alive.

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Latest preservation pulse Updated weekly

  • Arctic Lexicons: A Collaborative Map

    6 new word sets from Kalaallit Nunaat and Nunavut elders digitized with phonetic audio.

    Audio + Manuscripts

  • Voices of Night Sky Festival

    Intergenerational storytelling recorded in Inuktitut with interactive translations.

    New Oral Histories

  • Research Residency Open Call

    Apply to co-create field toolkits blending linguistic science and Indigenous knowledge.

    Opportunities

Featured Collections

Navigate multi-format archives curated with Arctic communities

Each collection module reveals stories, objects, and scholarship encoded in endangered languages. Click a module to access rich detail pages filled with contextual media, transcripts, and research pathways.

Lexical Atlas

Interactive maps connecting vocabulary with seasonal migrations, weather patterns, and cosmology.

Open atlas

Oral Narratives

Long-form storytelling, lullabies, and ceremonial speeches with parallel translations and speaker biographies.

Hear the voices

Cultural Artifacts

High-resolution 3D scans, artisan notes, and vocabulary linked to tools, clothing, and ceremonial objects.

View artifacts

Living Speakers

Interviews, speaker spotlights, and mentorship circles connecting elders with youth language stewards.

Meet the voices

Research Hub

Open-access studies, comparative grammars, and field notebooks with downloadable datasets.

Enter hub

Language Lab

Interactive learning tools with phoneme explorers, morpheme builders, and Arctic climate vocab drills.

Experiment now

Latest stories

Field journals and multimedia essays from the circumpolar north

Browse research hub

Essay

Mapping the Language of Ice

Dive into how coastal communities describe ice in over forty seasonal stages, weaving science with lived experience.

Read the essay

Audio diary

When Northern Lights Speak

Hear young storytellers describe aurora lore in Inupiaq, layered with spatialized soundscapes from the tundra.

Listen to diary

Field notes

Stitching Vocabulary into Parkas

Explore how seamstresses embed language teaching into parka making workshops, linking pattern names with kinship trees.

View field notes

Community initiatives

Collaborate with language bearers, researchers, and designers

PolarLangVault thrives through partnerships. We co-create with Indigenous language councils, Arctic universities, and emerging technologists dedicated to equitable knowledge sharing.

  • Fellowship programs connecting linguists with community hosts for immersive residencies.
  • Open-source tools translating field notes into sharable interactive exhibits.
  • Youth-led labs crafting mobile-first learning experiences.
Mentorship circles Download toolkits

Upcoming workshops

All events

  • Sonic Cartography: Mapping Sound Archives

    December 3 — Hosted with University of Tromsø

  • Language Lab Sprint: Phoneme Visualizers

    January 12 — Virtual hackathon with Arctic youth mentors

  • Archival Ethics and Consent Practices

    February 5 — In collaboration with Inuit Circumpolar Council