START YOUR REGISTRATION BY CLICKING HERE.

Location

For the first time in its seventeen-year history of the Dakota/Lakota Summer Institute, the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe is partnering with United Tribes Technical College (UTTC) to host the event on their beautiful campus in Bismarck, North Dakota. Most DLSI courses will take place in the Science and Technology Building. Campus maps are available online here.

Courses

The Dakota/Lakota Summer Institute is an annual opportunity to learn, speak, and live the Dakota/Lakota language for up to three weeks. A variety of courses are available to meet people wherever they are in their language learning, whether they're complete beginners, intermediate learners, fluent speakers, or anywhere in between.

All courses are three weeks in length (with the exception of Video Creation which is a one-week course). Most DLSI students take two courses per week (one in the morning and the other in the afternoon), but some take just one. Go to Courses to explore this year's offering. Please note that some courses have pre-requisites. Please check the course description to check your eligibility for that course.

College Credit & CEUs

The following courses are available for College Credit:

• Očhéthi Šakówiŋ Language 101 (AM option)
• Očhéthi Šakówiŋ Language 101 (PM option)
• Očhéthi Šakówiŋ Language 102
• Tribal Arts 112

Students must attend all three weeks of a course to be eligible for College Credit. For information on tuition costs, please visit: https://uttc.edu/tuition-and-aid/financial-aid-office/tuition-waivers/. Students may be eligible for the Native American Tuition Waiver, Pell Grants, or other bursaries to cover tuition costs. UTTC will help determine your eligibility during the registration process.

Alternatively, all courses (including the above) are available for Continuing Education Units (CEUs) instead of College Credit. There is no cost to the student for CEUs. We still recommend that CEU students attend for all three weeks but they may alternatively attend for only one or two weeks. CEU students require the prior consent of the instructor if they intend to join the course later than the first week.

Registration

Registration opens on Monday, April 24, 2023 for the following groups of people:

1. Fluent speakers of Dakota/Lakota language
2. Members, descendants, and employees of Standing Rock Sioux Tribe
3. Teachers in Standing Rock Education Consortium schools
4. Students taking at least one DLSI course for College Credit.

Registration opens to everyone else on Monday, May 1, 2023.

To get started, click Register from any course page, and complete the Pre-Registration form. You will be asked which course(s) you hope to attend each week. Repeat this step for all attendees in your group.

UTTC will reach out to you within two business days after submitting your Pre-Registration form with additional paperwork to complete your Registration. The deadline to complete this is Friday, May 12, 2023 at 5PM CT, but courses will fill up on a first come, first served basis, so we encourage you to complete this paperwork as soon as possible.

Lodging

Comfortable lodging is available in UTTC's campus dormitories for only $17 per night! To get started on your lodging application, email mplentychief@uttc.edu. For more information, visit https://uttc.edu/student-life/campus-life/campus-housing/

Meals

Lunch is scheduled daily from 12PM to 1PM and is provided free of charge to all registered DLSI students. Other meals are "on your own." For more information about the UTTC Dining Hall, visit https://uttc.edu/student-life/student-resources/cafeteria/

SRST Admin Leave

Employees of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe are granted up to forty hours of administrative leave to take part in DLSI courses. For more information, please see the memo from Chairwoman Alkire.

Minimum Age

Students must be 18 years or older to participate in DLSI courses, with the exception of high school juniors and seniors who are taking courses for dual credit.

Scholarships

Enrolled members of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe are eligible for a scholarship in the amount of $300 per week to participate in DLSI. Please indicate on the pre-registration form whether you'd like to receive a scholarship. To receive the scholarship, participants must meet the following criteria:

• Must be an enrolled member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe
• Must be eighteen years of age or older
• Must have been in good academic standing in a SREC school or Sitting Bull College during the 2022-2023 academic year
• Must attend two classes each day for the entire week.