Video games are helping people stay in shape. They enable artistic expression. They make workplace training more engaging and effective. And they are transforming the way we learn. In addition to subjects such as math and science, however, games are now being used by Native Americans from the Midwest to the Pacific Northwest to teach, preserve and pass along their indigenous languages to the next generation of tribal leaders.

Most recently, members of the Pauma Band of Luiseno Mission Indians have turned to the Nintendo DSi to teach younger members proper pronunciation, conversation skills, oral histories and cultural customs. Last year the tribe, in coordination with the California State University San Marcos' California Indian Culture and Sovereignty Center, created a series of Nintendo DSi games to teach the Luiseno language through words, pictures and phrases. Members ranging from tribal elders to young children, many of whom are learning their first Lusieno words, lent their voices to help preserve a language nearly extinct. The game's accessibility and inherent entertainment value, combined with children's natural aptitude for languages, makes it an especially effective tool for younger students. Nearly every household on the reservation is using the program, and the tribe plans to expand the program with more advanced games and mobile apps. 

Other tribes are using online and computer games to preserve their indigenous languages, too. The Association on American Indian Affairs employs flash-based Internet games to teach young children the Dakotah language, a dialect of the Sioux. Several distinct games – a memory-card game, a traditional matching game, a "what belongs?" game and a game modeled after "Simon Says" – help introduce young students to their native language. Each one has three levels and builds core vocabulary through words, pictures and audible clues. A similar partnership between the University of Northern Texas and the Klallam tribe uses computer games to build younger members' vocabulary and to teach correct pronunciation.

Thorton Media's RezWorld takes learning an indigenous language to a new level. Designed to teach Cherokee, RezWorld fully immerses a student in a virtual world complete with responsive non-playing characters and "quests" to help build a strong vocabulary and to teach cultural customs and day-to-day interactions. Most students who have played the game achieve conversational level in as little as a week.

About the Author

John Gaudiosi

Editor-in-Chief

John Gaudiosi has been covering videogames for the past 20 years for outlets like The Washington Post, CNET, Wired Magazine and CBS.com. He has focused on the convergence of entertainment and videogames for outlets like Video Business, Home Media Magazine, Entertainment Weekly, The Hollywood Reporter and Variety. He currently serves as Editor-in-Chief of Gamerlive.TV and is also a freelance game columnist for Reuters and writes for outlets like Forbes.com, NVISION, Official PlayStation Magazine, EGM Now, Geek Monthly, PrimaGames.com, and Yahoo! Games. John also serves as the video game expert for NBC in Washington D.C. and has produced videogame documentaries for The History Channel and Starz Entertainment. John was named one of the Top 50 Game Journalists in the world by Next-Gen.biz in 2007. He is the co-author of Scholastic Books' How to Get into Videogames, Prima Publishing's Madden: Twenty Years of Videogame Football and Electronic Arts: The Official History.