Department of Anthropology

Pam Innes
Associate Professor
Linguistic Anthropology

B.A. 1986, Bryn Mawr College
M.A. 1992, University of Oklahoma
Ph.D. 1997, University of Oklahoma

pjinnes@uwyo.edu •  Anthropology Bldg 210

While I am strongly committed to a four-field approach, my primary interest lies in linguistic anthropology. I have been active in language retention and revitalization work with members of the Muskogee and Seminole Nations of Oklahoma, the Apache Tribe of Oklahoma, and the Comanche Tribe of Oklahoma. Language and culture are so entwined that to lose one seriously compromises the strength of the other, and my work has been an attempt to help tribes retain their language as a resource for future generations. Currently, I am interested in working with members of the Shoshone and Arapaho tribes on the Wind River Reservation on whatever language programs they deem appropriate.

My interest in language retention programs has led me to become interested in language ideology, as well. Peoples' views on language, what it is, what it does for them, and its value to society, all affect how people use language in their day-to-day interactions. Investigating the ways in which people interact and what they think about these interactions can lead us to understand how and why certain kinds of miscommunications and misinterpretations frequently arise in intra- and cross-cultural interactions.