TEA Center: Kaksiza Caŋhdeṡka Center for Dakota Linguistics

Sisseton Wahpeton Community College, Agency Village SD

Investigators

Abstract

A goal of the Tribal Colleges and Universities Program (TCUP) is to increase the intellectual leadership of TCUP institutions so that they can address scientific or engineering needs or interests, specifically for their tribes or communities, or broadly for the Nation. The TCU Enterprise Advancement Centers (TEA Centers) strand allows TCUP institutions to capitalize on their investments in STEM instructional and research capacity. This project aligns directly with that goal and will have a direct impact on communities in North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Montana, and Nebraska. Sisseton Wahpeton College’s Kaksiza Caŋhdeṡka Center for Dakota Linguistics aims to be a hub for promoting the documentation, revitalization, and use of Dakota language and linguistics. The Kaksiza Caŋhdeṡka Center for Dakota Linguistics project builds directly on linguistics capacity built at the institution and strengthens close partnerships with tribal community organizations and cultural knowledge holders. The project aims to advance knowledge by using the Topic-Based Curriculum Instruction (TBLI) model to develop instructional modules steeped in Dakota epistemology and culture. A focus of the center is to address gaps in existing documentary materials and document ongoing dialect development within Dakota-speaking communities. The center plans to employ linguistic and anthropological theory and methods to design and promote Dakota proficiency, training community language experts and teachers to co-develop TBLI modules, document emerging terminology, and promote a master-apprentice program. The center seeks to adopt traditional approaches and serve a unifying purpose for linguistical, anthropological, sociological, and other expertise to support revitalization efforts for Dakota-speaking tribes facing dramatic losses of fluent speakers. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.