AI Lakota Language Learning Model

According to the Lakota Language Consortium, there were more than 200,000 native Lakota speakers in the late 1800s, before the boarding school era.  

Nowadays, only about 1,000 fluent speakers remain. 

The Lakota language, like many other Native American languages, is in a crisis due to a number of historical and contemporary factors:

Historical Suppression: For more than a century, there was a deliberate and systematic attempt to eradicate the Lakota language as a tool of colonization1. This involved severing indigenous people’s ties to their culture, history, and spirituality.

Boarding School Policy: Between the late 19th and mid-20th century, federal policy resulted in Native children being forcibly removed from their homes and placed in boarding schools where they were taught to be ashamed of their heritage, and were forbidden to speak their languages and practice their culture. This policy continues to cause intergenerational trauma and is a primary reason for why some Native languages are extinct, and others are becoming endangered.

Language Shift: As one culture consumes another, the language of the consumed culture becomes more like the language of the consumer through a process known as language shift3. This means that language death at its most ferocious is almost completely dependent on the effects of rapid cultural change3.

Aging Population of Fluent Speakers: The last generation of first language speakers are now in their 70s and the language has not been passed down to the next generations since the mid-1950s4. When fluent elders die, there are no speakers to replace them.

Efforts are being made to preserve the Lakota language, such as immersion programs designed to teach Native children the Lakota language and culture during their most crucial developmental years. However, the situation remains critical and the preservation of the Lakota language is a race against time.

We can solve this using AI as a actively engaged learning model.

AI language models can play a significant role in preserving endangered languages like Lakota. 

AI can be used to create interactive language learning apps. These apps can provide lessons, quizzes, and practice exercises to help new learners acquire the language.
AI can be trained to translate between Lakota and other languages. This can help non-speakers understand and appreciate the language, and also assist in the creation of bilingual or multilingual resources.
AI can be trained to recognize spoken Lakota and convert it into written text, and vice versa. This can be particularly useful for creating audio resources and for supporting communication in the language.
AI can assist in the documentation of the language. It can be used to transcribe and translate recordings of native speakers, helping to create a written record of the language.
AI can be used to catalog and organize cultural artifacts, stories, songs, and other materials in the language. This can help preserve the cultural context of the language.

NMRC is located within the original boundaries of the mighty Sioux Tribes. We are a all Native led team and we currently work with the Native people in our area and the Oglala Sioux Tribe and the Rosebud Sioux Tribe. Our target population is the Native People from these areas. We also have partnerships with the Tribal Programs in our suicide prevention program from SAMHSA called Native Connections and we also have working relationships with the Native BIA schools in the Tribal regions that we serve.  The Native people from these Tribes and the communities will directly benefit from our project. 

Our mission is to provide services which promote and generate opportunities and wellness for the Native people, Minority groups and our youth; while also proudly promoting traditional values and celebrating diversity through Technology.

Nebraska Minority Resource Center (NMRC) is a 501(c)(3) organization located in Gordon Nebraska in the northern panhandle and is structured on providing for the basic nutritional needs, overall health and education of Native American and Minority individuals within the community.  Our mission is to provide an array of basic services which promote healthy lifestyles and generate opportunities for the Native American people and youth, including minority families and elders, and to increase the wellbeing of the individuals we serve. NMRC also proudly promotes traditional values while celebrating diversity through technology driven projects.

NMRC is located within the original boundaries of the mighty Sioux Tribes. We are a all Native led team and we currently work with the Native people in our area and the Oglala Sioux Tribe and the Rosebud Sioux Tribe. Our target population is the Native People from these areas. We also have partnerships with the Tribal Programs in our suicide prevention program from SAMHSA called Native Connections and we also have working relationships with the Native BIA schools in the Tribal regions that we serve.  The Native people from these Tribes and the communities will directly benefit from our project. 

We are led by the CEO/President "Arthur Harvey Sr." a enrolled Lakota Tribal Member and a IT professional who has over 25 years in the Information Technology industry. 

We have started testing early on the use of AI and started a "Native Knowledge Open AI" online portal to give our clients the opportunity to start using Chat GPT and other platforms to test and try AI.  The link to our site is here:https://www.nmrc-inc.org/napha

We have also been encouraging the use of AI to try Lakota language through our program but we have had issue with pronunciation and accent.  That is a goal for us to work on in this project.

We also will be partnering with the Brother-in-Law for our CEO.  His brother has been trying to preserve the Lakota language but lacks technology resources and we will give him the opportunity.  A link to his article is here: https://www.cbsnews.com/philadelphia/news/how-a-philadelphia-man-made-it-his-mission-to-keep-the-lakota-language-legacy-alive/

This solution is perfect for our organization as we are in a key position to deliver, based on the 25 plus years of technology industry experience our CEO has and also the partnerships with Native Schools and organizations that we can partner with to promote and deliver on our project.  We are a fully Native led Board of Director organization and we have project management experience as well as connection into the Tribal world.  Indian Country is a term we know well.  We also want to reduce the stigma and cultural misinformation and appropriation issue that will come with this project and we are in a position to to just that. Our ultimate goal is to preserve, save and share our beautiful language!

Arthur Harvey is the Founder/President and CEO of NMRC. Arthur is an enrolled member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe and was born and raised on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in south western South Dakota. His maternal side of the family is from the Bull Bear/Broken Rope tiospaye and his paternal side is from the Harvey/Conroy family. Arthurs family history like most Lakota’s in the region is rich in cultural history. His Grandmother on his Fathers side, Millie (Mary) Conroy, is a descendent of the Great Chief “Smoke” and his Grandpa on his Mother’s side, Moses Bull Bear, is the descendent of the Great Chief “Bull Bear” who were opposing factions Prior to European invasion when these two great Lakota leaders were the primary headsmen of the Great Plains country dominated by the Lakota/Dakota/Nakota people. Arthurs English surname Harvey comes from his Fathers family who migrated from PA and Missouri and settled in the Badlands in the Rockyford region and inter-married with the Lakota and Cheyenne people. His Great Grandmother on his Father’s side was Northern Cheyenne and Lakota and it was recently discovered that her father was the owner of one of the three in-famous Rathburn auction rifles that were auctioned along with a Pipe owned by Chief Red Cloud, after they were lifted from the warriors massacred after the killing of Chief Bigfoot in Wounded Knee in 1890.
Arthur is also a published writer who has been published in several anthologies and who has also published his own book of poetry “Reservation Easy” which is available on Amazon.com. Although he now seldom writes he has recently started working on a manuscript for a new volume of poetry.
Arthurs professional working career prior to founding NMRC has been in the Information Technology field and he has over 25 years of Technology experience with 15 of those years as a Director of Information Technology Departments at the College level and in Tribal Government.