TO REMEMBER...

It is often said that in order to move forward, we must look at our past. At Dakota Wicohan, we know that embracing our history, the beautiful, the painful - helps us to recognize our strengths and challenges we face as we look ahead.

Mnisota, cloudy waters is the birthplace of the Dakota language. Unfortunately through years of Government assimilation policies (boarding schools, etc), the language is now an endangered language, precariously in a state of crisis. It is estimated that only 8 fluent first generation speakers, all elderly, remain within the four Minnesota Dakota communities.

Today, only 165 American Indian languages are spoken and it's estimated that 90% of all world languages will be lost in this century. We are committed to ensuring Dakota does not suffer the same fate as these lost languages. Our current preservation initiatives include:

Interviewing and recording remaining Dakota speakers for multiple Oral History Project documentaries
Digitally recording written Dakota materials for inclusion on the Minnesota Reflections collection