News & Recent Events

Visit Us At The Language Summit 

The time has arrived for Tusweca Tiospaye’s 11th annual Language Summit at The Monument in Rapid City, SD. The theme is, “Uniting the Seven Council Fires to Save our Language”. We are in attendance surrounded by Elders, teachers, leaders, and those enthusiastically pursuing and supporting continued language use. Stop by our booth to converse, see what’s new, and check out some materials! If you are needing any help navigating and downloading the digital materials, be sure to give us a visit and we can offer a helping hand. We are also wanting to be of use to any schools and educational institutions who are wanting to supply their classrooms with Lakota learning materials!

We will be at the booth today Thursday, October 6th from 1pm-4pm and on Saturday, October 8th from 9am-12pm. The LLC booth will be closed tomorrow Friday, October 7th as the LLC staff will be attending the services of Board Member Kevin Locke.

We look forward to seeing you, being in community, and being surrounded by language!

For more information about the language summit visit: https://tusweca.org/

Attend the Denver Lakota Language Weekend

Registration is open to attend the fall 2022 Lakota Language Weekend in Denver, CO on November 5th and 6th. This language weekend will be held in person at the University of Denver! The purpose of Lakota Language weekends are to provide a deep dive into the language. This two-day course offers those at varying levels the time and space to practice essential skills with other language learners at their level. There will be two available tracks: a beginner track and an intermediate track. 

If you are Lakota and are interested in participating in this Lakota Language Weekend, we do have scholarships available so you can attend for free! The scholarship will waive the cost of the registration fee. Scholarship recipients will be responsible for their own travel expenses (Lunch will be provided during the session). Email info@lakhota.org for additional details on how to apply.

We would like to send a huge wóphila to everyone that attended the successful first event at our new office in Kyle, SD! The launch of Lakota Stories was wonderful and we saw attendees from several generations. Alex Fire Thunder led a presentation honoring the life of Ella Deloria and took a dive into what the culture and language looked like in her earlier years. Ella’s contributions to language are predecessors to how we see language today.

Participants received a preview copy of Lakota Stories. The Lakota Stories book is a mono-lingual text completely in Lakota that gives Lakota speakers and learners a chance to fully submerge themselves in the language. We anticipate Lakota Stories becoming available in the LLC bookstore by mid-November.

One of the great things about gathering together to discuss language is when we look at where the story of purposeful language documentation began it gives us a better look at the future and how we can be a part of that history. We shared a meal together, conversed in Lakota, and set the tone for how our Kyle office will be used moving forward. There is hope for our office to become a place we can speak Lakota and eat while sharing each other’s company. Thank you to South Dakota Humanities Council and again to everyone that stopped by and we look forward to seeing you again soon! 

We offer our sincere and heartfelt condolences to Kevin’s family and friends during this time. Čhaŋtéuŋyazaŋpi.

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