News & Recent Events

Lakota Summer Institute

We are excited to announce the dates for this year’s Lakota Summer Institute! This annual event will be held in person, in Rapid City, SD from June 5-16, 2023. Begin or continue your language journey together with learners and speakers in this unique opportunity.

Visit and fill out the form below to get notified of when we open registration.
*There are no plans for a virtual option this year.

Lakota Stories collected by Ella Deloria

Lakota Stories is available for pre-order*! This first-of-its-kind comprehensive reader and corresponding guide seek to encourage and inspire the next generation of Lakota readers and storytellers. You’ll find the popular stories collected by Ella Deloria in the late 1920s adapted to contemporary language.

• Over 30 pages of detailed instructions
• Over 170 pages of Lakota stories in a consistent phonemic orthography
• Over 150 pages of end notes and editorial explanations 
• A comprehensive glossary with 6,446 words used in the text

The purpose of this edition is to foreground and accentuate the Lakota original and make it more accessible to the contemporary audience, especially among Lakota language learners and educators. Whether you are a fluent speaker or a beginner / intermediate language learner, this book can help you enjoy reading Lakota text.

*NOTE: We have sold out of our initial print run. Click below to pre-order your copy during the second print run that will be shipped in late June / early July 2023.

Lakota Language Weekend Goes to New York

Last month attendees, learners, speakers, and elders gathered together with the American Indian Community House in New York for a Lakota Language Weekend. The weekend was a success in supporting Lakota speakers and learners in the New York area to come together to learn new skills and encourage each other. We are incredibly thankful to everyone who was able to attend.

During the weekend we were led by Elder speaker: Lekší Eugene Black Crow, our primary instructor: Alex FireThunder, and our assistant teacher: Delmer Forgets Nothing. The work between these three leaders was fun, and lighthearted, and provided attendees with examples of how we can engage with each other and especially our Elders in Lakota.

“I’m happy, you will keep our language going that way. What you learn here, don’t be afraid to share it with your kids, your grandkids, your mothers or whoever wants to learn. So that we can carry on our language… I’m really happy for that. Thank you guys for showing up.”

-Lekší Eugene Black Crow

With the support of The New York Community Trust, another memorable Lakota language weekend has been completed in New York City. Until next time! 

Dakhóta Iápi Okhódakičhiye (DIO) Dictionary App Launch

We would like to congratulate Dakhóta Iápi Okhódakičhiye (DIO) on the launch of their free Dakota Dictionary app available in the IOS App Store and the Google Play store!

“DIO believes Dakhóta Iápi kiŋ belongs to all Dakhóta people, and all Dakhóta people interested in learning the Dakhóta language should have the opportunity and access to learning the Dakhóta language free of charge… We warmly welcome new words, definitions, and example sentences with great anticipation, and will do our best to make the changes to further serve our people and our language.”

This is an exciting step forward for Dakota language documentation and accessibility! This is a part of the greater efforts to bring the importance of Indigenous Languages to the forefront. Language success across Turtle Island helps us all and we are excited for DIO and their work!