Latest in Lakota Language Consortium News

LLC presents awards at Lakota Nation Invitational

Wolf Creek Elementary School students receive the Most Improved Elementary School award

The annual Lakota Nation Invitational took place on December 18-21 at the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center in Rapid City, SD. The Lakota Language Consortium held an awards ceremony to recognize schools that have made outstanding achievements in language learning.

The following schools received awards:
Most Improved Elementary School—Wolf Creek Elementary School
Highest Achieving Elementary School—Sitting Bull College Lakȟól’iyapi Wahóȟpi
Most Improved Middle School—Cheyenne-Eagle Butte Junior High School
Highest Achieving Middle School—Red Shirt Middle School
Most Improved High School—Tiospaye Tope High School
Highest Achieving High School—Solen High School

The awards ceremony took place during the Platinum Anniversary Language Competition. The 20th Lakota Language Bowl featured students from elementary to high school levels competing to showcase their linguistic skills. Additionally, Evelyn “Sissy” Good House of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe received the Nakénuŋla waúŋ award for lifetime contribution to the continuation of the Lakota language.

New features in development for Owóksape

Download the Owóksape App on the Apple and Google Play app stores.

The Owóksape app, the adaptive Lakota learning platform, represents the next generation solution for language learners and educators. The gamified learning experience allows users to work their way through over 150 lessons. Launched in fall 2019, the app already has over 6,000 users and over 450,000 lessons have been completed. Developers are currently adding features that would further establish Owóksape as the future of language learning.
The new features include a teacher portal, which will give educators the ability to tailor lessons to the individual needs of a student. Assessing student progress will be as simple as checking the student’s score within the app. The app also alleviates the need for expensive textbooks.
Additional features will allow individual users to “favorite” flashcards, which would give the user easy access to the card for later review. New learning paths will cater to individual learning styles and allow users to choose the path that best suits their needs.

Click below to watch a demo of the app in action:

UN recommends TLC for Special Consultative Status

This January, the United Nations Non-Governmental Organizations Committee recommended TLC for Special Consultative Status. As one of 63 groups receiving this status, TLC will be able to attend Council meetings and issue statements. Read more here: https://www.un.org/press/en/2020/ngo902.doc.htm

Latest Lakota learning video: Understanding ablaut

Latest Lakota Learning video: Understanding ablaut

Why do the vowels in words sometimes change depending on context? This variation is called ablaut. The second video in the Lakota Language Learning series focuses on how ablaut affects certain Lakota words. Watch it here: https://youtu.be/bhsPZ9Htjr4

We want to hear from you!

Would you like to see more of the Lakota Berenstain Bears?

The Language Conservancy wants to do another 20 episodes of Lakota Berenstain Bears to continue providing fun and entertaining language learning tools. We would love to get your feedback and testimonials. This short, 8-question survey will help us gather your thoughts. Click the link below to respond.
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/TXLCZ37

Product spotlight

Pȟatkáša Zuyá Iyáya Ké is the first book in a series for intermediate Lakota readers. With colorful illustrations and a funny story, this book is a must-have for young Lakota learners. Order your copy here.

Upcoming events

Lakota Language Weekends coming soon to NY!

Lakota Language Weekends have been fully funded for 2020 and 2021, which means a weekend of learning will be coming to New York this spring! Stay tuned to the newsletter and the Lakota Language Consortium Facebook page as more information will be coming soon.

SAVE THE DATE

The Lakota Summer Institute South will take place from June 1 to June 12, 2020 at Oglala Lakota College in Kyle, South Dakota.

Register here: https://web.cvent.com/…/1858a5b8-12f2-42a6-891e-35a…/summary

SAVE THE DATE

The Lakota Summer Institute North will take place from July 6 to July 24, 2020 at University of North Dakota in Grand Forks, North Dakota.
Register here: https://web.cvent.com/event/e2736627-8ebb-4033-9dd7-abb5897c2392/summary