Language is not something we often give much thought to, but when we think about the critical role it plays in our lives, this is a bit surprising. Every interaction we have with one another relies on some form of communication or another, and often this communication takes the form of language. If you’ve ever attended one of our courses, you’ve probably been introduced to some of our reference material which is in the Lakota Sioux language.  It isn’t often we are introduced to new languages, so when we host events and courses one of the most common questions I am asked is about the native tongue for so many of the teachings we draw from. It certainly is a fascinating topic, though it’s struggling to endure into modern times and thus I thought it’d be good to spur on any interest in it that I can.

The Lakota language which I was taught in is actually one of three dialects of the Sioux language, along with the Nakota and the Dakota. Today, the Lakota and Dakota dialects are the only tw...