A state senate bill recognizes the official indigenous languages in South Dakota are Lakota, Dakota and Nakota.
If passed, that declaration will appear alongside English recognized as the common language for the state.
State Senator Troy Heinert is the prime sponsor of the bill, which seeks to codify those three languages as part of the state’s Indian heritage.
Democrat minority leader Heinert is Sicangu Lakota and represents a district that covers the Rosebud Reservation.
Heinert says the languages are about relationships.
“Everyone and everything is a relative,” Heinert says. “In our language, it reflects that. It puts things in that context that sometimes we don’t often hear in today’s society. It’s important that we start looking at and remembering that we’re all in this together.”
Heinert says tribal communities in South Dakota are losing roughly 700 fluent Lakota, Dakota and Nakota speakers a year, while gaining about 200.
He says he hopes the bill re-emphasizes the importance of hearing and speaking native languages.
“I think it validates the importance of getting our language out there and being used and accepted,” Heinert says. “You got to remember, in our history you used to get in trouble for speaking your native language. This shows the opposite of that, that it’s supported and needed and hopefully it’ll pass.”
If passed, English will remain the common language of the state, which is designated as the language used for any official public document or record.