Language Scolarships
SHI funds scholarships for Native language students seeking bachelor’s degrees to further perpetuate Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian languages in the establishment of learning nests. Through the three-year program, selected candidates are expected to:
- Spend four hours weekly listening to audio in their heritage language;
- Spend each year with an advanced language speaker translating and transcribing 15 minutes of archival audio;
- Attend SHI’s summer language gathering each year; and,
- Obtain a bachelor’s degree in Indigenous studies with an emphasis on Alaska Native languages.
Interested? Apply now!
Application (opens in a new tab)
Ruth Demmert Award
SHI administers the Ruth Demmert Language Award program, which grants an annual $5,000 scholarship to a student who is studying Southeast Alaska Native languages. This candidate is chosen among students who apply for the Sealaska scholarship. The scholarship’s namesake is a fluent Tlingit speaker, teacher, and tireless advocate for the revitalization of the language. She is so highly regarded that the Organized Village of Kake designated her as a cultural treasure. The fund was named in her honor at the urging of participants at SHI’s 2018 Native language summit, which drew more than 70 fluent Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian speakers and 200 language learners. Ruth is Raven from the Kaach.ádi clan, and her Tlingit name is Kaanak.
