Nisotak: An Example of Flexible Design for Indigenous Language Learning Apps and Reconciliation

Introduction

In Canada and globally there is great need for revitalization of Indigenous languages and cultures. There are between 5000 to 7000 languages in the world today (Tao, 2019), 40% of which are endangered or nearing extinction (UNESCO, 2020); most of the endangered languages are Indigenous. In the Canadian context where the nisotak project emerged, Statistics Canada (2017) indicated that there were 228,765 people who spoke an Indigenous language at home. Of these, nêhiyawêwin¹ (also referred to as ‘Cree’), one of the most widespread languages in the country, was spoken by only 83,960 at home. The 2021 Canadian census data provides some good news—although the number of Indigenous language speakers is still declining overall, the number of “children 8 years and younger who speak an Indigenous language grew from 11,715 to 28,755” (Taylor, 2022, para. 3).

In 2017, a research group (Koole et al., 2018) in Saskatchewan compiled a database of mobile applications (“apps”), podcasts, videos, and websites focused on Indigenous languages learning. The researchers found only 156 resources, 83 of which were dictionaries. This finding is in keeping with research by Joshi et al. (2020) who write that “only a very small number of the over 7000 languages of the world are represented in the rapidly evolving language technologies and applications” (p. 6282).

To address the lack of Indigenous language learning resources, the nisotak project involved the development of a learner app and lesson creation interface (LCI). The term, nistotak, is an acronym that refers to “nêhiyawêwin instructional syntax online for teaching and knowledge” (Lewis & Koole, 2020). The word, nisotak, is an old nêhiyaw word that means “two canoes”. The nisotak app is available to anyone, Indigenous and non-Indigenous, who is interested in learning Indigenous languages.

In this paper, we² first address the imperative of Indigenous language revitalization and how it can be supported through the development of appropriate and sustainable technologies. We outline the challenges faced as we began this project. We share the approaches that that helped us overcome these challenges in ways that respect the autonomy and uniqueness of distinct Indigenous communities in Canada. These approaches also guided how we designed and programmed the nistotak system to tailor it for local Indigenous languages. Finally, we share the key results of the usability study that took place in the spring and summer of 2022.