Today marks the 10^th anniversary of LLC’s founding – and the beginning of a historic change for the better in the story of the Lakota language.  In May 2004, LLC launched with a small Board, affiliation with just one tribe and 15 Lakota and non-tribal schools ready to participate in a comprehensive, unified language revitalization plan.

Today, LLC’s curriculum is taught at more than 80 schools for five tribes, and reaches more than 24,000 students – not counting the individual learners who pick up the textbooks, CDs and New Lakota Dictionary for self-study.  After a decade of hard, hard work building relationships and watching Lakota language learning take off, LLC staff and Board can verify that:

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.  – -Margaret Mead

We are proud to count you among that group of committed citizens – language activists and caring supporters!

We have seen language activism stand up and take off running far beyond our own work – and that is a rare satisfaction.  The Lakota-Dakota Language Summit and the learner’s pages on Facebook prove that there is a demand for places where learners can gather and practice the language together.

It’s been a fantastic journey, a decade of startling growth, and we hope for many more. Here are some highlights of the past 10 years:

• 2004 – LLC is founded; Level 1 textbook is published.
• 2005 – Level 2 Textbook is published.
• 2006 – Lakota Summer Institute begins annual meetings at Sitting Bull College, with 18 participating teachers.
• 2007 – Assessment testing begins.
• 2008 – First Edition of the New Lakota Dictionary is published; Online Dictionary and Learner’s Forum is launched.
• 2009 – LLC wins Ken Hale Prize for grassroots language preservation work; New Lakota Dictionary wins Independent Publisher’s Association honor for Reference Publishing.
• 2010 – Level 3 textbook published.
• 2011 – The Lakota-language Berenstain Bears cartoons are produced and broadcast; Lakota Language Education Action Program (LLEAP) gets federal funding for two degree programs; Florentine Films/Hott Productions signs to produce & direct Rising Voices/ Hótȟaŋiŋpi, a documentary film about Lakota language revitalization; the Second Edition of the New Lakota Dictionary is published with 3,000 more words.
• 2012 – Level 4 textbook is published; LLEAP courses in teaching Lakota as a second language begin at Sitting Bull College and the University of South Dakota.
• 2013 – LSI attendance tops 100; audio files are recorded for the online Dictionary; LLC textbooks become the template for other Plains Tribes’ language education movements;  Rising Voices/ Hótȟaŋiŋpi awarded major funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
• 2014 – Level 5 textbook published; Lakota Audio Series published.

And this isn’t even mentioning the children’s picture books, the font bundle or the “Iktomi” plays!

Looking ahead to the next 10 years, LLC is already developing a Lakota Handbook as a complete, advanced grammar reference.   More apps, more audio-enhancement for the NLD, more Berenstain Bears episodes want to be translated and dubbed, and Rising Voices/ Hótȟaŋiŋpi will be finished and broadcast on PBS. And the first LLEAP graduates will be ready to start teaching!

So stay on board with us, the ride is just beginning!