Language Nests
Brief History
The first Language Nests (Kōhanga reo) began in Aotearoa (New Zealand) in 1982. Broadly, they are spaces where fluent speakers immerse young learners in their language.
Programs in Alaska
Language nests have popped up in...
Tanan Chat'oh - Gwich'in Language Nest
Tanan Ch’at’oh was a Gwich’in language nest located in Fairbanks, Alaska. It was home to a community based effort to revitalize the Gwich’in language, which is an endangered Arctic Indigenous language spoken by less than 800 people around the world. The inaugural cohort of 2yr olds started on March 15, 2021. It ceased operation in 2022.
Xántsii Náay opened in 2018 in Hydaburg, teaching little ones Xaad Kíl (Haida).
Iḷisaġvik College’s Uqautchim Uglua (Language Nest) program approached the end of its second year of operation as a strong, vibrant force in the effort to indigenize education on the North Slope. It is currently out of operation, but its website is still active.
The Tamamta Liitukut Project's (translated as “Everyone is Learning”) end goal is to develop a culturally-relevant Kodiak Alutiiq immersion language nest for preschool-aged children with outreach services for all age groups to sustain Alutiiq as a living language.
Unglu means “nest” in Yup'ik and is part of the larger endeavor, Wangkuta Qanriarait Nanvarparmiut Yugestun, which means “We all speak Lake Iliamna Yup’ik.”