Interested in learning Lakota directly?

David Little Elk, certified Lakota Language & Culture Teacher, author of the Lakota Language book & CD method Cante Etanhan Owoglake (Speaking From The Heart) and the Lakota Culture book Wicoh'an Otehike (The Difficult Path), has just announced the inauguration of his Wakinyan Kiza Lakota Online Academy, where he offers direct one-to-one instruction. Highly recommended!

www.malakota.com

• Language is vital to Lakota culture. It is our bloodline. History has demonstrated that how we handle our language and how we develop it can cause the Lakota people to grow or it can destroy us. Two hundred years ago, the language built us to a point where we were a progressive and strong people. Within 200 years, the misuse of the language almost destroyed us. It is time the Lakota language returns as a vehicle of empowerment.
  
  
• Elders reminded us that the language is wakan, "very powerful." We use it to communicate with other nations: the Deer Nation, the Eagle Nation, the Buffalo Nation, and so forth. We talk to the wamakaskan, "living beings of the earth," through spiritual communications. Language must be taught with this in mind.
  
  
• When teaching the language to younger people, both its good and evil powers must be taught. If you teach only the good, children will be ruined when they become adults. They need to understand that language contains great power. It can be used to injure a person's feelings or to compliment their achievements. It can be used with evil intent or to honor and bless. Young people need to understand that language contains power to give life or to take it away. As a result, it must be used respectfully.

— Quotes from "Reading and Writing the Lakota Language"
by Albert White Hat Sr.