Project Brief

The native languages of Alaska’s indigenous peoples all but disappeared until a resurgence of language and culture in the 1980s. Thanks to efforts by organizations such as Sealaska, the largest of Alaska’s 12 regional native corporations, native language is thriving. As the times have changed, however, so have the learning tools and methods used to transfer knowledge. Sealaska Heritage Institute, a native nonprofit founded by Sealaska in 1980 to perpetuate and enhance Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian cultures of Southeast Alaska, contracted our team to create a modern delivery method of language learning to new generations of speakers.

Our team designed and built cross-platform mobile apps and a content management system for learning Southeast Alaskan Native Languages. Starting with the Tlingit language, we developed applications for iOS & Android that are designed to be used by anyone to learn Alaskan vocabulary through visual and auditory reinforcement. Users are provided vocabulary of everyday Alaskan items, wildlife, and nature, accompanied by audio from Elders and other Native Speakers. We created a content management system that allows SHI to manage vocabulary and audio content for multiple languages. Updates are automatically synced with the mobile apps.  A suite of applications that also includes the Haida and Tsimshian languages is available in the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store under the publisher Sealaska Heritage Institute (SHI).