The Language Conservancy

Watch & Learn Wednesday — and a small milestone to celebrate.

Our YouTube channel has reached 3,000 subscribers!

Thank you to everyone who has watched, shared, and supported these language learning resources. Each view helps bring Indigenous languages into more homes, classrooms, and communities.

This week, learn words about food and drink in Cheyenne.

With high-frequency vocabulary and colorful images, this video is designed for beginning learners building everyday language skills.

Narrated by Lanell Ballard
Illustrated by Emma Percival, Allison Horner, and František Valer
Translations by Lanell Ballard, Christine Medicine Bull, and Michelle Three Fingers
Linguistic consultation by Corbyn Sipes and Ashleigh Surma

Created in collaboration with St. Labre Indian School.

Watch and learn with us:
https://youtu.be/ijOj3LQqukk?si=HdVlqABgBE4QsWmC

Language grows through use, sharing, and community.

Máhtáme naa Manestȯtse (Food and Drink) Northern Cheyenne Picture Book Learn words about food and drink in Cheyenne! With high frequency vocabulary and colorful images, this video is ideal for beginning learners of Cheyenne.Narr...

Watch & Learn Wednesday featuring a new video by the Yavapai-Apache Nation. Learn the names of animals in Yavapai!

Linguistic and cultural consultation provided by members of the Yavapai-Apache Nation.

Our work is dedicated to the ancestors of the Yavapai language.

Narrated by Reba Franco, Tracie Hunter, Jordan Lewis, and other Yavapai speakers

Project direction by Marley Juan

Illustrated by Marty Two Bulls Sr., Emma Percival, Noah Link and František Valer

Edited by Hunter Weedin and Ashleigh Surma

Chpáya (Animals) Yavapai Picture Book Learn about animals in Yavapai! With high frequency vocabulary and colorful images, this video is ideal for beginning learners of the language.This book proj...

As we close out our year-end campaign, we’re grateful for the support that helped move Indigenous language and literacy work forward. While we didn’t fully reach our goal, the generosity we received continues to show up in classrooms, communities, and shared learning.

Still here. Still speaking. Still learning.

Watch & Learn Wednesday! Say hello to Hováhne (Animals) in Northern Cheyenne! This is a fun, beginner-friendly way to hear and repeat Northern Cheyenne vocabulary.

What’s your favorite Cheyenne animal word? Tell us in the comments!

Watch the new video here:

Hováhne (Animals) Northern Cheyenne Picture Book Learn about animals in Cheyenne! With high frequency vocabulary and colorful images, this video is ideal for beginning learners of Cheyenne.This book project...

Today, we honor and remember the Native Code Talkers whose languages became a shield for freedom during World War I and World War II. Their honor, courage, and service showcases the enduring strength of Native language.

Many Native Nations contributed Code Talkers, including:
Navajo, Choctaw, Comanche, Cherokee, Lakota, Dakota, Meskwaki (Fox), Muscogee (Creek), Seminole, Osage, Hopi, Crow, Cheyenne, Assiniboine, Oneida, Zuni, Pawnee, Tlingit, Ho-Chunk (Winnebago), Ojibwe (Chippewa/Anishinaabe), Lenape (Delaware), Cree, Kiowa, Menominee, Mohawk, Miwok, Nez Perce, Ottawa, Potawatomi, Sac and Fox, Ponca, Mississippi Choctaw

These brave men turned the languages of their Nations into unbreakable codes — protecting lives and proving that Indigenous languages are powerful, vital, and enduring.

Navajo Code Talkers were among the most documented, read more about the use of the Navajo language here:

"Semper Fidelis, Code Talkers" Winter 2001, Vol. 33, No. 4 By Adam Jevec As Americans and Japanese troops fought island to island in the Pacific during World War II, the Japanese used their considerable skill as code breakers to intercept many messages being sent by American forces. After the war, however, Japan's own chief of in...

Dictionary.com just named “67” (yes, the number!) as the 2025 Word of the Year — showing how fast new slang can spread across cultures.

It got us thinking … every language has words or phrases that carry humor, identity, and connection.

What’s a modern word, phrase, or saying in your language that’s caught on recently — maybe a playful inside joke or a new expression that young speakers use?

Share it below and let’s celebrate how Indigenous languages are alive, evolving, and uniquely ours.

You can read the full announcement here:
https://www.dictionary.com/e/word-of-the-year-2025/