Starting from a broad definition of minority languages, this paper explores the evolution of the link between these languages and translation, from language documentation techniques to post-colonial translation theories and language policy. Thus, my presentation will tackle, in turn: -how translation was used by field linguists and ethnographers to document indigenous languages, -how translating specific texts can affect minority languages and cultures, -how minority languages have been tackled in Translation Studies, -the role translation can play in minority language policies, -the place minority languages hold in contemporary professional translation training curricula.