The 2024 Dakota/Lakota Summer Institute is our 18th annual! We are offering 3 weeks of courses in-person throughout June, at United Tribes Technical College. All courses are accredited through UTTC and can be taken for CEU or college credit.
LOCATION
For the second year in a row, the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe is partnering with United Tribes Technical College (UTTC) to host the event on their beautiful campus in Bismarck, North Dakota. Most DSLI course will take place in the Science and Technology Building. Campus maps are available online here.
COURSES
The Dakota/Lakota Summer Institute is an annual opportunity to learn, speak, and live the Dakota/Lakota Language for up to three weeks. A variety of courses are available to meet people wherever they are in their language learning, whether they’re complete beginners, intermediate learners, fluent speakers, or anywhere in between.
All courses are three weeks in length. Most DLSI students take two courses per week (one in the morning and the other in the afternoon), but some take just one. See below to explore this year’s offering. Please note that some courses have pre-requisites. Please Check the course description to check your eligibility for that course.
Dakota/Lakota Language 101
This course is designed for second-language learners of Dakota/Lakota who are at a beginner level. Students will be immersed in Dakota/Lakota language and culture, with a focus on building conversational capacity, grammatical analysis, and cultural confidence, all while building their language learning skills. Students will learn to speak, listen, read, and write the Dakota/Lakota language through a wide variety of group activities, games, oral drills, composition exercises, project work, and independent study. Teachers will draw on a wide variety of resources, including authentic and prepared materials, conversations, reference materials, and the knowledge and experiences that students bring to the classroom.
Dakota/Lakota Language 102
This course is designed for second language learners of Dakota/Lakota who are at a pre-intermediate level and is a continuation of Dakota/Lakota 101. Students will deepen their immersion in Dakota/Lakota language and culture, with a focus on building conversational capacity, grammatical analysis, and cultural confidence, all while strengthening their language learning skills. Students will learn to speak, listen, read, and write the Dakota/Lakota language through a wide variety of group activities, games, oral drills, composition exercises, project work, and independent study. Teachers will draw on a wide variety of resources, including authentic and prepared materials, conversations, reference materials, and the knowledge and experiences that students bring to the classroom.
Dakota/Lakota Language 103
This course is designed for second language learners of Dakota/Lakota who are at an intermediate level and is a continuation of Dakota/Lakota 102. Students will deepen their immersion in Dakota/Lakota language and culture, with a focus on building conversational capacity, grammatical analysis, and cultural confidence, all while strengthening their language learning skills. Students will learn to speak, listen, read, and write the Dakota/Lakota language through a wide variety of group activities, games, oral drills, composition exercises, project work, and independent study. Teachers will draw on a wide variety of resources, including authentic and prepared materials, conversations, reference materials, and the knowledge and experiences that students bring to the classroom.
This course is available for Continuing Education Units.
Prerequisites
Očhéthi Šakówiŋ Language 102 or consent of the instructor.
Dakota/Lakota Speaking Lab
Class time is for talking! This is a unique learning experience for people of all ages. From day one, you will be talking about the world around you, about things you enjoy. No english, no linguistics, no reading and writing Ð just talking, repeating, and raising some hell!
This morning course should be taken in combination with Dakota/Lakota Language (First Year) in the afternoon.
Language Teaching Methods
This series of Teaching Methods courses may be taken in combination with any other courses or on their own. Student needs will be explored through concepts such as the stages of knowledge; language performance factors; and modes of communication. You will gain an appreciation of proven language pedagogies, such as Total Physical Response, Communicative Language Teaching, and Audiolingual Drills, as well as and the importance of modelling and spaced repetition for vocab building. We will also cover important lesson planning ideas such as backward design, modelling, spaced repetition, and free and guided practice.
You will get to know these ideas through a combination of class observation, theory discussion, and hands-on practice. This course is designed for anyone who would like to teach Dakota/Lakota, whether you are fluent or not.
Students may take either the morning track (9AM-12:15PM) or the afternoon track (1PM-4:15PM) but they do not need to take both. If you require specific college credits towards your degree or certificate program, press “Show Sessions” above to find the course code offered in each track.
Dakota Lakota Grammar
This course introduces practical and theoretical knowledge of D/Lakota grammar, the conjugation patterns, and syntactical structure of D/Lakota verbs, and the basic rules of word order in D/Lakota sentences. This course provides the student with a foundation to become a more self-reliant learner as well as teacher. If you are taking this class for credit, it will appear on your Sitting Bull College invoice and transcript as LDL108-ON Teaching Očhéthi Šakówiŋ Grammar I.
Chippeway/Ojibwe
College Credit & CEUs
The following courses are available for College Credit:
- Očhéthi Šakówiŋ Language 101 (AM option)
- Očhéthi Šakówiŋ Language 101 (PM option)
- Očhéthi Šakówiŋ Language 102
Students must attend all three weeks of a course to be eligible for College Credit. For information on tuition costs, please visit: Apply today.
Alternatively, all courses (including the above) are available for Continuing Education Units (CEUs) instead of College Credit. There is no cost to the student for CEUs. We still recommend that CEU students attend for all three weeks but they may alternatively attend for only one or two weeks. CEU students require the prior consent of the instructor if they intend to join the course later than the first week.
REGISTRATION
Registration opens on Wednesday, April 17th.
To get started, complete the Pre-Registration form. You will be asked which course(s) you hope to attend each week. Repeat this step for all attendees in your group.
UTTC will reach out to you within two business days after submitting your Pre-Registration form with additional paperwork to complete your Registration. The deadline to complete this is Wednesday, May 8th at 5PM CT, but courses will fill up on a first come, first served basis, so we encourage you to complete this paperwork as soon as possible.
LODGING
Comfortable lodging is available in UTTC’s campus dormitories for only $40 per night! To get started on your lodging application, email mplentychief@uttc.edu. Camping options are also available. Unfortunately, we cannot offer family housing.
MEALS
Lunch is scheduled daily from 12PM to 1PM and is provided free of charge to all registered DLSI students. Other meals are “on your own.” For more information about the UTTC Dining Hall, visit https://uttc.edu/student-life/student-resources/cafeteria/
SRST ADMIN LEAVE
TBD
MINIMUM AGE
Students must be 18 years or older to stay in campus housing. Dual credit students can take the training but are not eligible for campus housing.
SCHOLARSHIPS
In 2023, we were able to offer scholarships to enrolled members of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. Unfortunately, due to a decrease in funding, we are unable to offer this opportunity again in 2024.
