Indigenous Languages

Earlier this winter, Shoshone elders and younger tribal members gathered at a remote ranch in the Gros Ventre mountains of Western Wyoming. They were there to hunt for elk and learn about the cultural significance of the animal. Throughout the gathering, participants practiced the Shoshone language.

What are some of the challenges when it comes to preserving the Shoshone and Arapaho languages on the Wind River Reservation? And what’s being done to pass those languages down from generation to generation? Those questions are at the heart of an upcoming talk in Jackson on March 18th titled “Protecting Languages, Preserving Cultures.”

Nye County is the nation’s first to offer voting in Shoshone — a language that, traditionally, isn’t written.

Learning Indigenous languages became even harder during the pandemic. In some communities, language learning ground to a halt. And many tribal communities saw the tragic deaths of native speakers. The latest federal relief package includes $20 million in emergency funding for Indigenous language programs, but advocates say it's not enough. The Mountain West News Bureau's Savannah Maher reports.

It's a Wednesday evening in December. Five o'clock means the end of my work day, and the start of Wampanoag language class. "Wunee wunôq," my language...

Students at Riverton High School will soon be able to take courses in the Arapaho language.Principal John Griffith said that students in Fremont County…

This week, Riverton will host a conference on how to save the native languages of indigenous peoples across the globe. It’s the first time in its 22 year…