Latest in Lakota Language Consortium News

This year’s class is represented by an 11-student cohort (Pictured above with professors Kim Campbell, front-center, and Jan Ulrich, 3rd from right)

This year, an exciting new partnership has formed between LLC’s sister organization The Language Conservancy and the University of North Dakota (UND). The program, Lakota Language Teaching and Learning (LLTL), is a 2-year degree which will certify students to teach Lakota in both tribal and public schools nationwide. Members of the cohort began their degree program this past July at the 2019 Lakota Summer Institute North, taking two courses: Lakota Linguistics for Teachers and Lakota Language. Future courses will cover Lakota grammar, communicative Lakota, and teaching methods.

Students will take 3 semesters of courses on UND’s campus, followed by one semester student teaching with a mentor. After graduating, they will go on to commit at least three years to teaching Lakota in any tribal or public school.

Learn more about the program on UND’s website.

Check out this video from INFORUM’s piece on LSI – North to hear one current LLTL student explain his motivation for pursuing this degree.

This summer, LLC instructors taught a total of 28 class sessions over the course of five weeks. At LSI South, five course tracks were offered – three beginner tracks, one pre-intermediate track, and one native speaker/teacher track. 70 students came to LSI South this year! At LSI North, three course tracks were offered – one beginner, one pre-intermediate, and one for the LLTL cohort. 30 students came to LSI North this year!

Special thanks to our partners at Oglala Lakota College and the University of North Dakota for their expertise in moderating and hosting the institutes. At both institutes, we are building a solid base of Lakota language warriors. We hope to see you in 2020!

We plan to post several videos a year on the LLC YouTube channel, website, and Facebook. Stay tuned on these sites to hear the latest updates.

Couldn’t make it to one of the Summer Institutes? There’s still a chance for you to join one of our programs this year! LLC is putting on two Lakota Language Weekends this Fall.

Join us in Rapid City, SD on October 5th-6th and/or Denver, CO on October 19th-20th.

Follow our Facebook page for more information, including locations!

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