Indiana University professors are working to prevent the extinction of an indigenous tribe’s native language.
The American Indian Studies Research Institute houses thousands of archived audio recordings and books of various native languages, including Nakoda, an endangered language spoken by the Assiniboine Tribe in Montana.
A group of IU professors and researchers are co-operating with members of the Assiniboine to revitalize their language.
Archived Nakoda recordings are used as a base for building a K-12 curriculum that includes children’s books, recorded stories, and grammar lessons.
Acting Director Richard Henne-Ochoa says English is currently the tribe’s dominant language and the community hopes children learn Nakoda and continue to pass it down.
“The history of European relations with the Native Americans, it’s about time for reconciliation," he says. "It’s about time to help them out with restoring their language, restoring their communities, restoring their culture."
Henne-Ochoa expects the project to wrap up in a couple of years.
The Island Mountain Development Group awarded a grant to help fund the $250,000 project.
People who are interested can donate to the project on the institute’s website.