About Native Youth Language Project

The Native Youth Language Project finds and shares resources for learning the Dakota and Ojibwe languages and cultural histories, as well as those of other indigenous languages. The project is led by a team of Native youth.

The Native Youth Language Project was created in 2013 as an innovative and unique project that places Native American youth in a leadership role in sharing resources for study of the Dakota and Ojibwe languages, cultures and geographic histories, as well as in networking with youth in communities across North America to work toward indigenous language revitalization with self-determination and a focus on next generations of indigenous language speakers.

The Native Youth Language Project is funded by a grant from the Minnesota Indian Affairs Council and is housed in the American Indian Family Center (Saint Paul, Minnesota).

The focus for the initial year of the project is in three areas: compiling and online sharing of available resources for Dakota and Ojibwe language study; researching and video productions of Dakota and Ojibwe place names in the Minneapolis and Saint Paul metropolitan area; and networking with Dakota, Ojibwe and other indigenous language projects and communities.

Work of the project is accomplished using a “culture circle” model that brings together youth on the project leadership team with fluent elders from the Dakota and Ojibwe language communities. The project is coordinated by Dezmond Juan and Tom Delaney.