Technology Helps Youngsters With Native Language

Apr 10, 2012 | Blog, Student Success

You don’t have to wait until you are attending a tribal college to learn a Native language. There are now applications for mobile phones for learning Lakota and Navajo from tinkR; Labs.

Navajo Toddler was released last year, and teaches children the words for animals, colors, and phrases. This year the company is preparing to launch the Lakota app with the same features.

Company representatives Isreal Shortman, Navajo, and Rusty Calder, both owners of the company, said they developed the app get younger people engaged in their Native languages and to preserve them.

Both apps are available free from the App store.

Recent Blog Posts

Remembering Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell (Northern Cheyenne) 

Remembering Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell (Northern Cheyenne) 

The former Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell passed December 30, 2025, surrounded by family shortly after a visit with tribal elders. Eddie Box Jr. sang the sacred Southern Ute Sundance songs which carried Native people between worlds for generations, and the vision of Nighthorse-Campbell donned in his war bonnet and buckskins and riding his horse home into the next world. 

Our Students’ Success is Our Wealth: Join Us to Help More Students Access Higher Education 

Our Students’ Success is Our Wealth: Join Us to Help More Students Access Higher Education 

Winter is a special season, full of holidays, good food, good company. And no matter the culture, storytelling and the spirit of reflection, growth, giving, and gratitude take center stage this time of year. It is no different for Native peoples, many of whom wait to tell certain stories on long, cold winter nights.