ONLY 2,000 PEOPLE SPEAK LAKOTA TODAY

Lakota is dangerously close to extinction. Recent linguistic surveys and anecdotal evidence reveal that there are only 2,000 first-language Lakota speakers remaining, on and around the reservations of North Dakota and South Dakota. This number represents less than 2% of the total Lakota population.

Today, the average Lakota speaker is 65 years old. These existing speakers are dying and are not being replaced by new Lakota-speaking generations. According to our recent analysis, the language stopped being transmitted to children during the mid-1950s. LLC's effort to reverse this factor relies on creating a new generation of Lakota speakers while there are still native speakers available to be teachers.

Below are a few highlights from our ongoing efforts to preserve Lakȟótiyapi!