Dakota Language Summer Institute provides language opportunities for community

This summer, the Osseo Area Schools American Indian Education department hosted the fifth annual Dakota Language Summer Institute, a free one week language institute featuring tracks for beginning and intermediate speakers, as well as a track for current and prospective teachers.

The beginner track focused on people who had never taken a Dakota class or were returning to their language journey. This track concentrated on Beginning Dakota, phonology and sentence structure. The intermediate track was designed for learners who had one year of college level Dakota or four semesters of high school Dakota. This track focused on Intermediate Dakota and building conversation skills. The teaching methodology track was for current or aspiring Dakota teachers. This track emphasized teaching methods, lesson planning and morphology to broaden their understanding of Dakota words.

“We were very excited to offer this event, and also infuse it with cultural activities. To start off and end each day, we start with traditional songs. We are learning through playing, singing, music and the joy of building community,” said Ethan Neerdaels, the coordinator of American Indian Education.

From July 29 through Aug. 2, participants met for four hours each day for lessons both in person at Osseo Middle School and online. They then wrapped up the week with a two-day, outdoor, nature-based event at the Belwin Nature Conservancy.

This year’s Dakota Language Institute had participants from ages three to 80 learning and speaking Dakota language, which is Minnesota’s first language. Forty people attended in person, with twenty people joining online from around the country. The teachers leading the classes also came from all over.

“We had fluent speakers that came from their reservation communities across the United States and Canada to share their expertise of the language with all of us here this week,” said Neerdaels.

Neerdaels and his dedicated team are working on many upcoming publications, including board games in the Dakota language that are available for use in the homes and classrooms, a level three Speak Dakota textbook for intermediate learners and a book called 1,001 Dakota Birds, which helps people who are learning learn how to conjugate and change verbs. They are also working to add 10,000 words to their Dakota dictionary app.

There are over 80 tribal nations represented in Osseo Area Schools, with around 550 American Indian students in the Osseo Indian Education program. To learn more about the district American Indian Education program, visit the district website.