Alaska Native Language Courses

Outer Coast offers free, online Alaska Native language courses for learners from across Alaska and beyond.

Over the past three years, we have been inspired and humbled by the response to our Alaska Native Language Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). Our teachers have included X̱’unei Lance Twitchell (Outer Coast faculty member and UAS Professor of Alaska Native Languages), Dag júus Rob Yates (X̱aad Kíl language scholar), Ggoadm ʼTeebn Victoria McKoy (UAS Language Pathways Scholar), and Neilga Koogéi Taija Revels (Central Council of Tlingit and Haida), among many other contributors and guest speakers.

We are excited to continue supporting Southeast Alaska Native Language revitalization efforts this year with the return of three language courses: Lingít, Shm′algyack/Sm’algya̱x, and X̱aad Kíl.

The courses are free for all participants. Thank you to Sealaska Heritage Institute for co-hosting and sponsoring this program.

Sign Up for a Course

Shm′algyack/Sm’algya̱x

Teacher and language scholar Shiggoap Alfie Price will lead this course. Shiggoap (Alfie Price) is Ts’msyen, Haida, and Lingit and is Gishbutwada, which is the Ts’msyen Killerwhale clan, Gitlaan tribe from the house of the blue billed duck. He’s one of the co-founders of the Juneau Sm’algya̱x (Ts’msyen language) learners group, along with Nancy Barnes and Alex Roehl.

Dates: Thursday, November 16 – Thursday, December 14, 2023

Class Meetings: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 12:00pm – 1:00pm AKST

Meeting Location: Zoom

The Shm′algyack/Sm’algya̱x MOOC is free and open to all skill levels. Families are especially welcome!

Lingít

The Lingít MOOC will run again during the 2023-2024 winter. More information coming soon!

All classes from the 2020 and 2021 Lingít MOOCs are recorded and open source. Browse lesson videos and other course materials here.

X̱aad Kíl

The 2023 X̱aad Kíl MOOC has concluded.

Language scholar Dag júus Rob Yates taught this course.

Dates: September 12 – October 26, 2023

Class Meetings: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 12:00pm – 1:00pm Alaska Time

Meeting Location: Zoom

The X̱aad Kíl MOOC is free and open to all skill levels. Families are especially welcome!

“My Lingít language has helped me feel stronger, increased and improved my health and well-being, kept me motivated, reduced feelings of loneliness and isolation, and is connected to our larger collective wellbeing. Radical joy. That’s what I felt seeing the couple hundred learners attend each class.”

Participant of the inaugural Tlingit MOOC 2020

Yeey aaní káx̱ g̱unéi x̱too.aat (May we walk on your land). Outer Coast is situated on Lingít Aaní, the ancestral home of the Tlingit peoples. We strive to build a community of safe, inclusive, and integrative learning for all. Learn more.