About
Empowering Communities to Bring Native Languages to Daily LifeFounded in 1992, the Indigenous Language Institute (ILI) is a Native-led 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Our mission is to provide vital language programs and services to Native nations, tribes, and communities so that their identity, traditional wisdom, values, and right to self-determination are passed to future generations through their original languages.

We work directly with Tribal governments, language departments, schools, and community programs to design practical strategies. Our core focus is helping communities transition individuals from language learners to fluent speakers, expanding Indigenous language use across homes, schools, workplaces, and community life.

What We Do:
-Immersion Workshops: Tailored community trainings focused on daily language use and hands-on strategies.
-Strategic Language Planning: Partnering with tribal governments to assess language efforts and co-develop long-term action plans.
-Workplace Language Training: Training tribal enterprises to integrate Indigenous language into daily interactions.
-Youth Language Leadership Programming: A summer academy for Indigenous college students and young adults to build fluency and peer leadership.
-Curriculum Development & Publications: Creating field-tested resources, including How Do I Say...? workbooks and Awakening Our Languages handbooks.
-ILI Symposium (ILIS): A national gathering of educators, Elders, and learners to share strategies and strengthen language efforts.

Our Impact & Reach:
-30+ Years supporting Indigenous language learning.
-200+ Tribal Nations partnered with across the United States.
-1,200+ Participants Annually including educators and community members.
-20–35 Workshops hosted in communities each year.
-300+ Symposium Participants gathering annually to collaborate.


Indigenous Language Insititute

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Indigenous Language Insititute

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Teams

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