Anonymous wrote:Are there any cultural exchange programs where you can get language instruction on a reservation?

I am not sure but here is what I found

Where can I learn Native American languages?

First Nations Development Institute offers this list of resources to help you find information about Native American languages. We also offer similar resource pages for federally-recognized Indian tribes in the United States, and for tribal enrollment and genealogy. These lists are not comprehensive, so we suggest you search the web for additional resources.

Scroll below for further information.
Native American Languages
http://www.nmai.si.edu/education/codetalkers/html/chapter2.html
https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/senate-bill/254
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indigenous_languages_of_the_Americas
http://www.native-languages.org/

Lakota Language Institute
http://www.thundervalley.org/live-rez/our-programs/lakota-language

Navajo language academy
https://www.swarthmore.edu/SocSci/tfernal1/nla/halearch/halearch.htm

Navajo language
https://navajowotd.com/

Learn more about First Nations Development Institute at www.firstnations.org

Are there any cultural exchange programs where you can get language instruction on a reservation?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think we all fail as humans when we accuse people of being voyeurs, of cultural appropriation, etc. when they would like to know more about a culture but don't know how to express it the right way.

+1

Well said.

I think the OP is well intentioned.

Completely agree - people are being horrendous to someone looking to educate themselves and do something helpful.

I agree. And, looking at the variety of opportunities that turned up, it seems like many of the tribal nations agree.

Summary of helpful relevant info so far (Please add as needed)

* Many reservations welcome visitors and have recreational, historical and cultural sites and events to share with the public. All of the attractions, activities and lodgings listed on NativeAmerica.Travel are open to the public.
https://nativeamerica.travel/pages/faq

Here are some reservations in the US that welcome visitors and volunteers:

1. Rosebud Reservation, South Dakota
Volunteers can work on cultural, labor, and social projects with the Sicangu Oyate, or Sicangu Rosebud Sioux people. 


2. Blackfeet Reservation, Montana 
Volunteers can work on community assistance projects, such as renovating classrooms, planting gardens, and painting homes. Global Volunteers offers a program for volunteers, including meals, accommodations, and transportation. 


3. Fort Peck Indian Reservation, Montana
Visitors are welcome to see the reservation's historical places and artifacts, including sacred sites, buffalo jumps, and tipi rings. Visitors should contact the tribal office to respect tribal customs. 


4. Pine Ridge Reservation, South Dakota
Re-Member offers week-long service-learning trips to the reservation. Volunteers can work on projects such as building bunk beds, installing outhouses, and building wheelchair ramps. 


5. Ebey's Landing National Historical Reserve
Volunteers can help welcome visitors, work on trail maintenance, or become a docent at the Jacob and Sarah Ebey House.


Responses in this thread

1. The Navajo Nation encompasses more than 27,000 square miles and crosses parts of three states. It is about the size of West Virginia and has over 165,000 residents.

- Navajo reservation https://amizade.org/programs/navajo-nation/
https://www.roadscholar.o...on-Schools

Navajo Nation official FAQ site: https://www.navajo-nsn.go...n.gov/Faqs

The Navajo volunteer program in Tsaile, AZ is temporarily closed to visitors but the town itself and many Navajo tourist spots are open - eg., Tsaile's Canyon de Chelly, the Mummy Cave, and Diné College in Tsaile are open.


2. The Alaska Native Heritage Center (ANHC) is a living cultural center located in Anchorage, Alaska that promotes active observance of Alaska Native culture and traditions. As the only statewide cultural and education center dedicated to celebrating all cultures and heritages, ANHC serves as a statewide resource for Alaska Natives from birth until Elder.
https://www.alaskanative.net/


3. The Tohono O'Odham Nation Cultural Center & Museum hosts annual cultural celebrations that are open to the public to attend. The museum presents a collection of historic and contemporary Tohono O'odham art plus artifacts with ties to the past. Today, the various bands of O'odham people are broken up into four federally recognized tribes: The Tohono O'odham Nation, the Gila River Indian Community, the Ak-Chin Indian Community, and the Salt River (Pima Maricopa) Indian Community.
Kai restaurant on the Gila reservation outside Phoenix

4. San Xavier Mission outside Tucson on the ztohono reservation, also Kitt Peak on that reservation

5. Hulapei reservation by the Grand Canyon
“For the Hualapai, the universe and the earth are connected in a circle, with no beginning or end, and the mighty Canyon and the Colorado River are living entities infused with conscious spirit. These Indigenous people invite you to walk their land and experience their universe to ignite your spirit.”
https://grandcanyonwest.com/hualapai-tribe/

6. Hopi Visitor Center on the reservation (don’t think this is always open—used to be open more but visitors were rude so they shut it down a bit)

Website indicates that the Hopi Cultural Center in Second Mesa, Arizona is open, with some exceptions:
The Hopi Cultural Center offers a variety of experiences:
A restaurant serving American and traditional Hopi food
A motel with 33 rooms and one suite
Indoor and outdoor event spaces
Hopi Reservations to help visitors immerse themselves in Hopi culture

7. Rosebud reservation in South Dakota
The Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota Iis the home of the federally recognized Rosebud Sioux Tribe, who are Sicangu, a band of Lakota people. The Lakota name Sicangu Oyate translates as the "Burnt Thigh Nation", also known by the French term, the Brulé Sioux.
Aktá Lakota Museum & Cultural Center
St. Joseph’s Indian School
1301 N. Main St. Chamberlain, SD
aktalakota@stjo.org · 800-798-3452
https://aktalakota.stjo.org/tribal-lands/rosebud-sioux-reservation/
https://www.spiritualtravels.info/spiritual-sites-around-the-world/north-america/rosebud-indian-reservation-in-south-dakota/

8. “There are many volunteer opportunities on reservations if you look them up: you can do janitor work at a summer camp, carpentry, wrap Christmas gifts for kids, relief drives...

9. The Klamath River Renewal Project could probably use some help.

10. Earthwatch used to do some archeological digs on/around tribal lands out west

11. “I am Native. Just go live in a city with a high percentage of Natives. Like South Dakota, NM or Arizona. Many tribal employees are white: lawyers, doctors, teachers. One of my friends did Teach for America in a tiny reservatio.”

12. “DH went to law school in the PNW and worked in a legal clinic on a reservation. So if you’re an attorney, maybe that is an option.”

13. Volunteer at the national museum of the American Indian (no positions available at moment but check next year)
https://americanindian.si.../volunteer”


Museums and art exhibits
- Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian (DC, NYC and Md locations)

The National Museum of the American Indian operates three facilities. The museum on the National Mall in Washington, DC, offers exhibition galleries and spaces for performances, lectures and symposia, research, and education. The George Gustav Heye Center (GGHC) in New York City houses exhibitions, research, educational activities, and performing arts programs. The Cultural Resources Center (CRC) in Suitland, Maryland, houses the museum's collections as well as the conservation, repatriation, and digital imaging programs, and research facilities. The NMAI's off-site outreach efforts, often referred to as the "fourth museum," include websites, traveling exhibitions, and community programs.
https://americanindian.si.edu/

- Historic Saint Mary’s has some interesting exhibits on native life from the colonial period in that part of Maryland..
Historic St. Mary's City is an outdoor museum of living history and archaeology. Wander the paths to see an example of a Woodland Indian hamlet, a reconstructed tall ship, a mid-1600s style tobacco farm with animals, and a working printing press.
https://www.visitmaryland.org/listing/history-heritage/historic-st-marys-city#:~:text=Details-,Historic%20St.,and%20a%20working%20printing%20press.

Traveling exhibit Preston Singletary is a fantastic modern artist and this particular exhibit is very enlightening. It's about a myth that (along the way) includes a virgin birth. It's in Indianapolis right now but it adds dates when museums book it. https://www.prestonsingle...exhibition


8. Books and audio recordings

Michael A. McDonnell
Masters of Empire: Great Lakes Indians and the Making of America

Paul Chaat Smith
Everything You Know about Indians Is Wrong (Indigenous Americas Series)

Chester Nez

Navajo Code Talkers: A Guide to First-Person Narratives in the Veterans History Project
Biography of Navajo Code Talker Chester Nez, together with a video recording of his oral history interview from the Veterans History Project archives.

Chester Nez, and Judith Schiess Avila
Code Talker: The First and Only Memoir By One of the Original Navajo Code Talkers of WWII

Works by Luther Standing Bear (Óta Kté or "Plenty Kill," also known as Matȟó Nážiŋ or "Standing Bear", 1868 - 1939) was a Sicangu and Oglala Lakota author, educator, philosopher, and actor.

Anonymous wrote:
PS: Tsaile, AZ is a town of less than 2000 residents.

The Navajo Nation encompasses more than 27,000 square miles and crosses parts of three states. It is about the size of West Virginia and has over 165,000 residents.

It is not equivalent to Tsaile.

Thank you - this is very helpful. Did not realize that Navajo nations is so huge and crosses three states.

You are right though that I just meant to indicate that the volunteer program in Tsaile Arizona is closed.

It is good to have suggestions for other Navajo places to visit.

Thank you!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
...
Navajo Nation (Tsaile, AZ) is temporarily closed to visitors
...

Is this old information from early in the pandemic? Much of the Nation was closed to visitors then, but tourist sites are generally open again.

Navajo Nation official FAQ site: https://www.navajo-nsn.gov/Faqs

Tsaile's Canyon de Chelly is open, and the Mummy Cave, and other tourist sites.

After you read info from link provided by a PP, could you please clarify the accurate way to describe visitor info for Navajo Nation (Tsaile, AZ)? Just that the volunteer program is closed by other visitor sites are open?

Thanks for pointing this out about Navajo Nation sites.

Tsaile is a town.
The town is open.
One specific visitor program to Tsaile is on hold, but that does not mean the Navajo Nation is closed, as was written.
The Diné College in Tsaile is open (and can be visited).
The surrounding visitor sites and campgrounds are open, as are nearby hotels.

I suspect OP/PP meant to indicate that one particular linked program was currently on hold, but please do not avoid visiting either Tsaile or the rest of the vast Navajo Nation because you think it is all closed.

Thank you - that is very helpful. Appreciate the clarification.

PS: Tsaile, AZ is a town of less than 2000 residents.

The Navajo Nation encompasses more than 27,000 square miles and crosses parts of three states. It is about the size of West Virginia and has over 165,000 residents.

It is not equivalent to Tsaile.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
...
Navajo Nation (Tsaile, AZ) is temporarily closed to visitors
...

Is this old information from early in the pandemic? Much of the Nation was closed to visitors then, but tourist sites are generally open again.

Navajo Nation official FAQ site: https://www.navajo-nsn.gov/Faqs

Tsaile's Canyon de Chelly is open, and the Mummy Cave, and other tourist sites.

After you read info from link provided by a PP, could you please clarify the accurate way to describe visitor info for Navajo Nation (Tsaile, AZ)? Just that the volunteer program is closed by other visitor sites are open?

Thanks for pointing this out about Navajo Nation sites.

Tsaile is a town.
The town is open.
One specific visitor program to Tsaile is on hold, but that does not mean the Navajo Nation is closed, as was written.
The Diné College in Tsaile is open (and can be visited).
The surrounding visitor sites and campgrounds are open, as are nearby hotels.

I suspect OP/PP meant to indicate that one particular linked program was currently on hold, but please do not avoid visiting either Tsaile or the rest of the vast Navajo Nation because you think it is all closed.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
...
Navajo Nation (Tsaile, AZ) is temporarily closed to visitors
...

Is this old information from early in the pandemic? Much of the Nation was closed to visitors then, but tourist sites are generally open again.

Navajo Nation official FAQ site: https://www.navajo-nsn.gov/Faqs

Tsaile's Canyon de Chelly is open, and the Mummy Cave, and other tourist sites.

After you read info from link provided by a PP, could you please clarify the accurate way to describe visitor info for Navajo Nation (Tsaile, AZ)? Just that the volunteer program is closed by other visitor sites are open?

Thanks for pointing this out about Navajo Nation sites.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
...
Navajo Nation (Tsaile, AZ) is temporarily closed to visitors
...

Is this old information from early in the pandemic? Much of the Nation was closed to visitors then, but tourist sites are generally open again.

Navajo Nation official FAQ site: https://www.navajo-nsn.gov/Faqs

Tsaile's Canyon de Chelly is open, and the Mummy Cave, and other tourist sites.

https://www.sierraserviceproject.org/partner-communities/navajo-nation/
Update: May 6, 2024
We regret to share that due to recent information about facilities limitations in the Navajo Nation this summer, SSP has had to cancel our 2024 volunteer program at that site. SSP has a long history of partnership with the Navajo Nation, with Diné resident Silver Nez Perry (who supports this difficult decision) currently sitting on our board. We look forward to returning at some point, and will explore alternatives for housing for future summers.

Based in Tsaile, AZ, we have partnered with the Tsaile Wheatfields and Lukachukai Chapters of the Navajo Nation since 2013, and throughout the 2000s. Since 1994, SSP has partnered with various Diné (pronounced din-EH, meaning “the people”) communities.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
...
Navajo Nation (Tsaile, AZ) is temporarily closed to visitors
...

Is this old information from early in the pandemic? Much of the Nation was closed to visitors then, but tourist sites are generally open again.

Navajo Nation official FAQ site: https://www.navajo-nsn.gov/Faqs

Tsaile's Canyon de Chelly is open, and the Mummy Cave, and other tourist sites.

Will check. It said that on one of the links provided by a PP and appeared current but maybe it is not?

Anonymous wrote:
...
Navajo Nation (Tsaile, AZ) is temporarily closed to visitors
...

Is this old information from early in the pandemic? Much of the Nation was closed to visitors then, but tourist sites are generally open again.

Navajo Nation official FAQ site: https://www.navajo-nsn.gov/Faqs

Tsaile's Canyon de Chelly is open, and the Mummy Cave, and other tourist sites.

Anonymous wrote:Go visit, like the tourist you are, and spend money. The more you spend, the more helpful you are.

This sounds trite and patronizing . You don’t get to dictate to other posters how they spend their vacations or money. Quite a number of reservations are encouraging visitors such as OP to better understand their cultures.
Some of them encourage volunteers to help out. I am sure the vast majority of visitors buy some art or jewelry or whatever the tribes are selling.

The reservations that are open to visitors and volunteers are doing better on average than closed reservations. Some tourists want to understand Native American cultures better. It should be a win-win as long as visitors are respectful of local customs and values .

The level of misplaced snark on this thread is nuts.