Crazy Crow Trading Post offers this list of Sioux, Cherokee & Other American Indian Language Resources related links to help you in your search for information about American Indian tribes, associations, history and related information. Inclusion in this list does not represent an endorsement by Crazy Crow, although we do try to be selective – and reserve the right to do so.

Cherokee Syllabary and Sounds (from the Official Cherokee Nation web page)

Cherokee Indian Language – Want to learn the Cherokee Language? This is a great place to start and get your feet wet. There are many lessons and examples to learn from as well as sound recording pronunciation guide (provided in many audio formats).

Comanche Nation Language Department

Through the efforts of our Comanche Language and Cultural Preservation Committee and the Comanche Nation Language Planning Group, the Comanche Tribal Council approved the creation of a new language department on the budget last year. The department was slated to begin in October 2018 and we are now on the road to the revitalization and reclamation of the Comanche language.

DAKOTEYAH WOGDAKA!

Dakoteyah Wogdaka is an interactive audio program that will assist you in learning some basic words and phrases of the Dakota language. The interactive language lessons are brought to you as a project of the Native American Women’s Health Education Resource Center (NAWHERC) and their Dakota Language Immersion Program for local children. They are located on the Ihanktowan (Yankton) Sioux Reservation along the Missouri River in the southeastern part of South Dakota.

Ethnologue.com – Language Map of USA

Ethnologue.com is a place where you can conveniently find many resources to help you with your research of the world’s languages, including dozens of Native American languages. Ethnologue.com is owned by SIL International, a service organization that works with people who speak the world’s lesser-known languages. Information about the locations of the world’s living languages and have created a set of maps which include most of the countries of the world. These color language maps identify and display various Native American languages and where they are spoken.

Iroquois Language & Songs

The Iroquois Language & Songs website offers a brief introduction to the Languages and Social Songs of the Iroquois Confederacy. The Iroquois Confederacy is comprised of six different nations. These nations are the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, and the Tuscarora. Also featured are sound samples and brief descriptions of the different songs sung at socials within our community. Thanks to Lyle Anderson & Art Johnson for singing the samples of social dances for this web-site.

West Virginia Mingo

This site is dedicated to the preservation and revitalization of Unyææshæötká’, the language of the West Virginia Mingo. Mingo is an Iroquoian language native to the areas of western Pennsylvania, eastern Ohio and West Virginia. It is a seriously endangered language, with very few native speakers remaining. However, in recent years, there has been increasing interest in the language among Mingo descendants, both in the traditional homeland areas, as well as across the country.

Lakota Language Consortium

Lakota Language Consortium (LLC) is a nonprofit organization made up of community leaders, linguists, educators, and volunteers. Our mission is to support the revitalization and preservation of Lakȟótiyapi by working to increase the total number of new speakers. We focus on developing language learning materials, training teachers, and promoting a vibrant and positive language community. Since 2004, these materials have assisted over 20,000 students across more than 60 school systems in the region and have contributed to healthy language-learning communities. Our teacher training programs have helped expand community capacity for advanced instruction in the language – utilizing effective methods and integrating contextual learning and grammar.

Navajo Language Academy

The Navajo Language Academy, Inc. is a non-profit educational organization devoted to the scientific study and promotion of the Navajo language. The NLA is a joint effort by professional language teachers and linguists. The NLA has hosted Navajo linguistics workshops for scholars every summer since 1997.

Learn Anishinaabemowin | Little River Band of Ottawa Indians | Manistee, MI

Anishinaabemowin, the language of the Anishinaabe nation, is one of the oldest and most historically important Native American languages in North America, but it is in danger of becoming extinct if not passed on to a new generation. In earlier times, the language was passed on orally from a tribe’s elders to its younger members, but in more recent times, this practice has fallen victim to outside influences. The word Anishinaabe translated means a good person. Anishin means good and aabe comes from the word yaabe meaning the male species. The female in Anishinaabe is kwe. When we use mowin on the end of Anishinaabe, it simply means the language of the good person. We as the Anishinaabe nation never wrote our language until about 40 years ago. In the past, missionaries and linguists tried to write Anishinaabemowin, but since they were not speakers of this language, they were unable to do so. Now that some of us are teaching the language, which has never been done before, we are writing it as well. It is very important that we use a standard system throughout our nation. We do not have our own alphabet, so we use the English alphabet and spell our language phonetically as best as we can. It is indeed a challenge to write the unwritten.

The Piegan Institute | Blackfeet Indian Reservation

Founded in 1987 the Piegan Institute currently serves the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, located in Browning, Montana. Created by a group of visionary Blackfeet leaders. The Piegan Institute’s mission is to promote, preserve, research and restore Native American Languages. In 1992 the Piegan Institute addressed our mission to preserve Native American Languages by revitalizing the Blackfoot Language within the Blackfeet Tribe and establishing the Nizi Puh Wah Sin Blackfoot Language Schools Immersion Program focused on educating kindergarten through eighth grade scholars. Creating the Moccasin Flat, Cuts Wood and Lost Children Schools.

Natives Strengthening Indigenous Languages and Cultures

NSILC (Natives Strengthening Indigenous Languages and Cultures), is organized under Hinono’eitiit Hoowu’ inc, a federally recognized nonprofit body, for the specific purposes of aiding the teaching and perpetuation of Indigenous languages and cultures. To this regard NSILC will work toward creating educational opportunities for preschool age through to adulthood for individuals and communities to enhance the learning of Indigenous languages and cultures. Other activities of the organization will include conferences, educational programs, and training workshops for Indigenous North American peoples, as well as the general public, to further enhance and advance the understanding and importance of Native scholars and scholarship, and Native languages and cultures. To this regard the organization will research teaching techniques, curriculums, and educational methods conducive toward the teaching of Native American languages and cultures to benefit preschool aged children through to adults. The organization will also endorse and finance research, the publication of educational materials that will enhance the histories, study, teaching, and learning of Indigenous cultures, in conjunction with the revitalization of Indian languages.