Our Ancestors’ Echoes

SHI designed its Our Ancestors’ Echoes program to increase the number of Alaska Native students in Southeast Alaska who have access to educators teaching their Indigenous language. The program also prioritizes supporting and retaining current language educators, increasing wider access to language courses, and supporting mental health and healing work in the community.

Additionally, the program includes the establishment of an immersive language community for scholars enrolled in a bachelor’s degree program in Indigenous Studies in Language at the University of Alaska Southeast (UAS) and supports the publication of language resources in Lingít (Tlingit), X̱aad Kíl (Haida), and Shm’algyack (Tsimshian). SHI also funds scholarships for language students enrolled at UAS who are studying Lingít, X̱aad Kíl, and Shm’algyack. In addition, SHI funds full scholarships for anyone who wants to take a non-credit bearing language course at UAS.

At various times within the year, community language courses are also offered to the general public through Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) on Zoom through a partnership with Outer Coast in Sitka. For more information on how to enroll in language courses, visit Outer Coast. Don’t forget to visit our language resources pages for Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian learners!