Research Interests:

Niku T'arhechu T'arhesi is a four-field trained linguistic anthropologist whose research addresses three interlinked questions: i) What is language? ii) What are the evolutionary and cultural evolutionary processes that account for linguistic diversity? iii) What are the similarities and differences between human language and animal communication systems?  He has addressed aspects of those questions through ethnographic research of Spatial Language use by the P'urhepecha of Michoacan, Mexico.

In addition, he is committed to shedding light on the lifeways and histories of Amerindigenous populations from prehistoric to present times: Principally, across Mesoamerica; Secondarily, across i) the Andes, ii) the Amazon, and iii) North and South America. Through these efforts, he attempts to contribute to two principal stakeholders: the Academic community and Amerindigenous communities. For the former, his research helps to advance theory, method, and knowledge. For the latter, his research intends to provide applied pedagogy grounded in research on endangered languages, language documentation, and language revitalization.

Grassroots Projects: 

An example of the latter is to be found in one of Niku T'arhechu's personal projects. A P'urhepecha Amerindigenous person himself, he collaborates with his fellow P'urhepecha to revalorize and revitalize their ancestral language. They are currently developing P'urhepecha multimedia pedagogical materials (e.g., dictionaries, grammars, situational utterances) and producing P'urhepecha language voice dubs for popular animated cartoons. In the near future, they plan on producing P'urhepecha language animations that focus on Amerindigenous cultural histories as they relate to contemporary life