Our History:
The Lakota Language Consortium began as a dream by the elders and educators on the reservations of South Dakota to save their sacred ancestral language. A series of Lakota language projects at the Loneman School on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in the late 1990s served as the impetus for much of the current work. The second largest reservation in the US, the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation became the base of numerous LLC short-term projects, including the production multimedia computer materials for a newly formed Lakota language immersion program. These innovative and effective ventures were reorganized to bring the most effective Lakota language teaching materials to more reservation schools. By 2002, LLC enlisted a coalition of schools and institutions to work cooperatively on Lakota language revitalization. After working with several different operating models, the Lakota Language Consortium evolved into an educational 501(c)3 nonprofit organization in 2004, under a Board of Directors made up of Lakota community members and linguists.
Our Achievements:
Since incorporating, the Consortium had published the Level 1 textbook, the Level 1 Audio CD, the Level 1 Flashcard Set, two Lakota picture books, and the Lakota Alphabet Strip. By the end of 2005, LLC had published the Level 2 textbook, continued teacher-training workshops, and developed additional curriculum materials, including picture books and computer multimedia. By the end of 2006, LLC had trained over 60 Lakota teachers, reprinted the Level 1 textbook, and finished a large portion of the work on a groundbreaking 20,000-entry Lakota-English, English-Lakota Dictionary, to be published in 2007-the first dictionary of its kind to be produced in 70 years.
Today, the LLC is an organization with broad support among Lakota community members and linguists, all working together to bring back the Lakota language. LLC now provides Lakota language materials to over 30 affiliate schools and institutions, serving thousands of students throughout the Dakotas. LLC is working hard to make sure that the future is bright for the Lakota language. We are producing new textbook levels, dictionaries, and many other programs. We are also working energetically to expand our capacity to further achieve our revitalization goals.
Help create a bright future for the Lakota language! 
Home
