For example ,
Murkutu is an open-source digital access platform built with and for Indigenous communities that allows them to curate materials from digital repositories , which include recorded oral histories that allow for language revitalization and preserving and sharing cultural heritage . Kimberly Christen ,
director of the Center for Digital Scholarship and Curation at Washington State University , who helped build Murkutu , says , “ Native languages have been threatened by colonial projects and ongoing Western systems for a very long time . With UNESCO ’ s upcoming
Decade of Indigenous Languages , there ’ s really been a focus on ... the technologies that can help support Indigenous efforts .”
Social media bridging the digital divide
Tribes were often early adopters of communication technology like radio , says Morris , and today Indigenous communities embrace mobile technology and social media as a means to share cultural heritage and language . At the same time , tribal communities are among the least connected in the United States . According to
a 2018 survey , only 67 % of Native Americans had a broadband subscription , compared with 82 % of non-Native individuals . Just more than half of Native Americans living on reservations — which is
around 22 % of the American Indian and Alaska Native population — had broadband .
Social media plays an important role in keeping tribal members connected , with Facebook a popular platform because it ’ s low bandwidth and easy to use . During the pandemic , some
tribes have used Facebook Live to connect language learners with one another . Other groups , such as
StarLife , used Clubhouse to connect members of the Navajo Nation with the business community .
Some Native people are also using social media to connect tribal communities to vital services . Austin Serio , a member of the Chicoran Shakori Tribe of South Carolina and an MIT Indigenous Communities Fellow , launched the app ShockTalk with cofounder Sutton King of Wisconsin ’ s Menominee and Oneida Nation . “ We noticed Facebook and social media was this hugely important conduit for Indigenous communities ,” Serio says . “ It ’ s the primary way my tribe has been able to share important cultural information .”
ShockTalk allows users to interact with the app through Facebook Messenger to communicate with a Native therapist or other healthcare provider who can offer culturally responsive mental health services .
Reclaiming language
Nearly 99 % of Native American and Indigenous languages spoken today are in danger of disappearing , and only 20 have more than 2,000 speakers who use the language at home . The threat of many of them going extinct is very real , taking priceless insight into the tribes ’ culture with them , as the two are inextricably linked . For example , the Chickasaw Nation currently has fewer than 65 speakers who use Chickasaw as their first language , and the youngest was born in 1940 . In her
2015 research on the tribe ’ s language revitalization efforts , Morris wrote that Chickasaw as a spoken language will likely disappear within her lifetime .
To help preserve the language , the Chickasaw Nation has partnered with the software company Rosetta Stone to develop free language courses for tribal members . Users can download an app , study online , or use CDs if they don ’ t have Internet access . The tribe also developed
a free app that allows users to learn basic Chickasaw words and phrases on their desktop or mobile phone . Organizations such as
the Language Conservancy have developed online dictionaries , language learning apps , and vocabulary builders in Indigenous languages such as Apache , Crow , and Lakota .
Other groups are also offering online language classes via Zoom or other interactive platforms . Last summer , Outer Coast College in Sitka , Alaska , offered a
Tlingit language massive open online course ( MOOC ) conducted via Zoom , and Facebook groups like
Speak Gwich ’ in To Me ( a Dene-Athabaskan language spoken by people originally from Alaska , the Yukon , and Northwest Territories ) connect users with language-learning resources . This access to language learning and culture sharing is crucial for people who can ’ t attend in-person events or classes , especially tribal members who don ’ t live on reservations .
Also crucial are technology tools that aid writing in Native languages , such as the
FirstVoices keyboard app that includes the alphabets of more than 100 Indigenous languages and can be used in emails and social media and on other mobile apps . Meanwhile ,
a member of the Yakama Nation created
a specific app that allows users to type in Ichishkíin , his dialect of the Sahaptin language .
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Native Americans are also increasingly using digital technology to raise awareness of their communities and culture . HP Diversity , Equity & Inclusion Program Manager Trina Finley Ponce , a member of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes in Montana , received a $ 10,000 HP Foundation grant in 2021 to support Native Voices in Idaho , a video series featuring the stories of Native youth that launched on the Kessler-Keener Foundation website (
kesslerkeener . org ) in November .
PHOTOGRAPH BY TRINA FINLEY PONCE ( CONFEDERATED SALISH & KOOTENAI TRIBES )
HP / INNOVATION / FALL 2021 56