We had a good protest tonight. My favorite sign was this one, about Tucson (original name closer to cuk-son). #Tucson #Arizona #IndigenousLanguages

Come join us on July 6th for our upcoming meetings for an engaging discussion of endangered and emerging scripts - particularly looking into our ongoing SKN projects. Everyone is welcome - every background and experience can bring something to the table.

The White River First Nation gifted me with these gorgeous moccasins. I am so grateful for having been able to spend this week with them! #IndigenousLanguages #UpperTanana #wrfn #yukon

The highlight of the drive was, of course, this animal. The Upper Tanana word for this animal should not be used by women. Instead, they use Neetsay, which means “our grandfather”. #yukon #wildlife #indigenousLanguages #taboo

Back after the terrible fire in Hawai'i I made a small donation to the Hawai'ian immersion school ʻAha Pūnana Leo. Today they sent me an annual report. What I love about it: most of the articles are in Hawai'ian! Some may not even have an English translation! There are also lots of wonderful photos of kids learning things in Hawai'ian, but what I really love about it is that they just use the language, even for the business report part. #linguistics #IndigenousLanguages #hawaii

In other news...

Meet the 2024-2026 #NDN #Changemakers

By Jordynn Paz • March 5, 2025

"In October, NDN Collective announced the recipients of the 2024/26 Changemaker Fellowship, a cohort of 21 #Indigenous leaders from throughout #TurtleIsland, Islands of #Hawaii, #Borikén / #PuertoRico, the U.S. territories of American #Samoa, #Guam, the Northern #Mariana Islands, and the U.S. #VirginIslands. These incredible fellows are transforming their communities, defending Indigenous lands and waters, developing solutions for #regenerative and #sustainable futures, and revitalizing #IndigenousLanguages, #governance, #ceremonies and ways of being.

"We are honored to support the important and necessary work of each of these changemakers through this two-year fellowship program. With the NDN Changemaker Fellowship, individuals will focus on education, skill building, networking, community building, theory of change mapping, and mentorship."

Read more:
https://ndncollective.org/meet-the-2024-26-ndn-changemakers/
#TraditionalKnowledge #WaterIsLife #LandIsLife #SocialJustice #IndigenousHealth #IndigenousWellBeing #FoodSecurity #Decolonize #ProtectMotherEarth #LanguagePreservation #CulturePreservation #NDNCollective

I told my friend and tutor that thanks to her lessons I was able to understand the Tikuna spoken in the film (well, a lot of it, anyway), and she said the Tikuna-speaking character is her uncle! She sent me this, circling him. #languages #IndigenousLanguages #Ticuna #Tikuna #Amazonas #Amazonia

Colombia has the most linguistic diversity of any country in South America, with 65 languages in 13 language families. Of those 65 languages some 51 are spoken in the Colombian Amazon. #MotherTongues #IndigenousLanguages #Colombia https://sinchi.org.co/sabias-que-la-mayor-diversidad-de-lenguas-esta-en-la-amazonia

Today I learned that the word for butterfly in Tupí is "Panama"!

JUST *UNDER 24* HOURS TO GO!

GREAT REWARDS (INCLUDING THE ACTUAL BOOK) STILL AVAILABLE!

Please consider supporting @Endangeredalphabets Kickstarter book on the art of writing and endangered writing systems! It is so close to its goal, and it is such a worthy project.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/endangeredatlas/endangered-alphabets-calligraphy

Pop song in Tikuna!

#Tikuna #Ticuna #Magütá
#IndigenousLanguages #LenguasIndigenas

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8wAMpFvQjA

For years, #Indigenous people in the #NWT have been working to #decolonize names. That's included calls to scrap the word #slave from #GreatSlaveLake and #Slavey, changing them to something meaningful to Indigenous people.

The request the territory received back in 2022 suggested the lake's name reflect four #IndigenousLanguages: Dene Zhatıé, Dëne Sųłıné Yatıé, Tłıchǫ Yatıı̨̀ and Wıı̀lıı̀deh Yatıı̨̀. It was supported by the North Slave Métis Alliance and the former MLA for #Yellowknife North, according to information from Cleveland's department.

Georgina Fabian, an elder from Fort Providence, said the name 'Slavey' is a #colonial term that was imposed on her people.

"It shouldn't take this long ... but the problem with Great Slave Lake itself is that there are many #IndigenousCommunities that border the lake, so it is now a matter of which name you should choose ... so there is a lot of politics with that," Nokleby said.

https://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.7252552

#LeonardPeltier awaits decision in high-stakes parole bid on anniversary of #PineRidge shootout

Story by Kaitlyn Kennedy
June 26, 2024

"Demands for justice for #Indigenous #FreedomFighter Leonard #Peltier are expected to resound loudly on the anniversary of the infamous June 26, 1975, shootout on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in so-called South Dakota.

"A member of the #TurtleMountainBand of #Chippewa, Peltier was taken into US custody after he was convicted of killing FBI special agents Jack Coler and Ronald Williams.

"The killing of an Indigenous man, #JosephStuntz, during the shootout was never investigated, nor have any charges ever been issued.

"Now 79 years old, Peltier is incarcerated in a maximum-security facility in Coleman, Florida. He has spent over 48 years behind bars.

"Peltier was granted a parole hearing in early June in order that he might once again make his case for release.

"#NDNCollective President and CEO Nick Tilsen was one of only two witnesses allowed to testify in the hearing. 'How Leonard was treated during his prosecution and during his continued incarceration is consistent with how they have treated Indian people throughout history,' he said in a webinar earlier this month.

"During the hearing, Tilsen also spoke to Peltier's legacy, explaining how he and the #AmericanIndianMovement contributed to the revitalization of #IndigenousLanguages, #ceremonies, and #culture.

"'We didn't have to do our #ceremonies in hiding anymore because people fought for those rights,' he said during the webinar. 'They made it okay for us to be proud of who we are.'"

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/oglala-commemoration-day-leonard-peltier-awaits-decision-in-high-stakes-parole-bid/ar-BB1oWrWR

#ActivityPub and the #Fediverse as tools to protect & promote #IndigenousLanguages and knowledge:
"When you have organizations like Microsoft & Google making hundreds of millions off of selling services to education and gov in this country, you know that would be a valuable corpus for them—I’m not saying that they would sort of steal… but I feel like OpenAI would probably do something like that."
https://blog.mozilla.org/en/internet-culture/keoni-mahelona-mozilla-rise-25-data-protection/

Petition to have the UN officially rename North America to “Turtle Island”

Stumbled across this map of North America Turtle Island, which shows the natural features of the continent without national borders and with traditional indigenous names for major cities and various archaeological sites.

Not gonna lie, this is so cool. And Turtle Island sounds so much more poetic than the latinization of some random Italian guy’s name.

You can find the map and other information like it here: https://decolonialatlas.wordpress.com/turtle-island-decolonized/

' “Learning language is really scary, right? It’s frightening! People will tell stories like ‘I’m learning to speak, people are laughing at me’ which makes them not want to do it.

“But here we have an offering where you can listen and get some basics in the privacy of your home.” '

#IndigenousLanguages #learning #Canada #Haudenosaunee #Cree #Athabaskan #Anishinaabe #Inuktitut #NativeAmerican

https://globalnews.ca/news/10273315/indigenous-language-radio-series/

Why #Navajo is the world’s hardest language to learn
The tonal #NativeAmerican #language differentiates words based on #pitch and makes Spanish conjugation look like child’s play.

by Tim Brinkhof, November 27, 2023

"Concentrated in #Arizona and #NewMexico, the Navajo are one of the largest Native American groups in the United States. Consisting of up to 400,000 tribal members, they are thought to have originated from northwestern #Canada and were forcibly moved to their present location by the federal government in the 1860s during #TheLongWalk.

"Traditional Navajo families live in circular mud-and-log homes called hogans, create intricate ceremonial paintings made of sand, and hold four-day runs (a ritual called kinaalda) to celebrate young girls turning into adult women.

"Arguably, the most important aspect of Navajo culture is their language. Also known as #Diné #Bizaad (the “people’s language”), Navajo is similar to #Apache, from which it separated between 1300 and 1525 AD. Both Navajo and Apache belong to a language family called #Athabaskan, which, providing evidence for their geographic origin, is also spoken by native tribes in #Yukon, #Alaska, and #BritishColumbia. As with other Native American languages, #globalization and #discrimination threaten Navajo’s survival. In 2017, the number of fluent speakers was estimated at 170,000, less than half of the tribe’s population.

"Learning Navajo isn’t easy. Compared to other complicated but more widely spoken languages, like Korean or Arabic, there are limited resources available to non-speakers. Mastery of Navajo language also requires a level of familiarity with Navajo customs, something even some Indigenous people no longer have access to.

"That said, the most daunting aspect of learning Navajo is the language itself. Described by linguists Robert W. Young and William Morgan as a 'hopeless maze of irregularities,' its unique grammar, syntax, and tonal pronunciation are so indecipherable to outsiders that, during the Second World War, the American army used Navajo as a form of military code."

https://bigthink.com/high-culture/navajo-language/?utm_source=pocket-newtab-en-us