Be proud of who you are’; Dakota Tipi teacher champions Indigenous language learning – PortageOnline

Oct 30 2025

At Dakota Tipi School, Garrett Tacan is on a mission to keep Indigenous languages and culture alive among students from nursery to grade 12. As a Language and Culture Teacher, he sees firsthand the impact of learning the Dakota language on young people’s identity and pride.

“I think it’d be very beneficial for the upcoming generation if the parents knew what their kids were learning or speaking. From my point of view, when I teach the kids in school, they take it home and they talk to their parents, and their parents don’t know the language, then they want to get included more in students’ lives or education as well,” Tacan notes.

Tacan emphasizes that younger children absorb languages most easily.

Read More: https://portageonline.com/articles/be-proud-of-who-you-are-dakota-tipi-teacher-champions-indigenous-language-learning