3 Indigenous North American languages: Comanche, Chinuk Wawa & Hupa

A big part of the reason our learners in Transparent Language Online can choose from 140+ languages: the hard work of 7000 Languages and their community partners!

In the last 12 years, the non-profit has worked with indigenous groups to create online courses in 40+ indigenous languages. Including the three latest additions: Chinuk Wawa, Comanche, and Hupa.

The partners provide the language expertise, 7000 handles course production, and we publish the courses to Transparent Language Online where anyone with a library card can learn them for free.

Chinuk Wawa – Pacific Northwest

Chinuk Wawa is the heritage language of the Chinook Indian Nation in the Pacific Northwest. It was spoken in all areas west of the Rockies from Northern California to Alaska. Chinuk Wawa consists of a mix of simplified Chinookan, Nuuchahnulth, English, and Canadian French.

The Chinook Indian Nation is made up of the five western-most Chinookan speaking tribes, representing over 3,000 enrolled tribal members, most living in Washington and Oregon. They are known for their Cedar canoes and hats.

The Chinook Nation was federally recognized until 2001, but 18 months later the Bureau of Indian Affairs reversed its decision. They continue to fight for recognition.

This introductory Chinuk Wawa course was created by Chinook Tribal member, Brandi Ramus. After completing the course, learners will be able to introduce themselves and their family members in Chinuk Wawa.

Comanche – Oklahoma

Comanche is the language of the Comanche people from the Southern Plains (Oklahoma, Texas, and New Mexico). Unfortunately, the language is spoken by fewer than 50 people today, mostly in the Lawton, Oklahoma area.

In the late 19^th century, Comanche children were sent to boarding schools where use of their indigenous language was forbidden, causing the decline in speakers. The language played an important role in World War II when a group of Comanche Code Talkers were recruited to send and receive sensitive information in their language.

Both Comanche courses—an alphabet course and a Level 1 course for beginners—were created by the Comanche Nation Language Department in 2023. These courses focus on teaching the orthography adopted in 1993 as well as establishing baseline vocabulary in everyday usage.

Hupa – Northern California

Na:tinixwe Mixine:whe (Hupa Language) is spoken by the Na:tinixwe people from the Hoopa Valley in Northern California.

Hupa is an Athabascan language, which are typically found and spoken throughout Alaska and western Canada. The Hupa migrated from the north to Northern California more than 1,000 years ago. Many parts of their culture still identifying with their northern origin, including red cedar-planked houses, dugout canoes, and basket hats.

Unfortunately there are fewer than 100 speakers remaining.

This course was created by 7000 Languages’ 2024 Language Revitalization Fellow, Carina Peterson and Xinewh-ding Inc. It is inspired by the Fluency Transfer System books modeled by Salish School of Spokane.

Their focus has been striving for fluency within our community with the use of recordings from our first-speaker elders. To obtain these recordings, they worked with Verdena Parker to reach out to families within the community for permissions to use their family members’ recordings of elders past and present.

Ready to start learning? Explore the Indigenous language collection for free with your library card. Find a participating library near you.

Reviving a language? Contact 7000 Languages to learn about the process of creating a course.