Micɨ́ksɨs HelloWelcome to the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians Language Department's website!
Here, you can find resources that the SSBMI Language Department has created for learning Nisenan and Northern Sierra Miwok, including self-paced language lessons, audio recordings, and other materials. Please check out the links below to learn more!
The SSBMI Lanuage Department hosted its first Nisenan-Miwok Bingo in March 2024, where we played Bingo in Nisenan and Miwok while learning the two languages together.
Instead of using standard Bingo cards, we created our own Bingo cards that use numbers and animals. At Nisenan-Miwok Bingo we called out a number and the name of an animal, first in Nisenan and then in Miwok, to let players know which spaces to cover on their Bingo cards.
Click here to learn more about Nisenan-Miwok Bingo, including to listen to audio recordings of the Nisenan and Miwok language that we used in order to practice for the next Bingo.
On February 28, 2024, the SSBMI Language Department and Exhibits & Collections Center hosted our latest Beeteyihí (Storytime). We shared Nisenan and Miwok stories and created artwork inspired by "May" (Salmon) and other traditional stories.
Click here to learn more about this event, including to listen to audio recordings of the stories we shared, view the artwork, and access other materials.
The SSBMI Lanuage Department has created coloring pages which you can use to learn and practice Nisenan and Miwok animal names while having fun at home.
Click here to learn more, including to access downloadable copies of the coloring pages and listen to audio recordings of the language. You can find other fun activity sheets for learning Nisenan and Miwok, including matching games and word searches, by clicking here.
Do you have a suggestion for a coloring page? Let us know at Language@ssband.org.
In December 2023, the SSBMI Language Department and Exhibits & Collections Center published the first book in the SSBMI Nisenan Storytelling Collection. In this story, called "Booyéem Mowí K’ut’í Méyt’omatoy" (Jackrabbit Gave Antlers to Deer), we learn how K’ut’ (Deer) obtained his antlers from Booyée (Jackrabbit) during Creation Time.
Click here to learn more about the storybook, including to listen to the story in Nisenan and English, access the digital version of the storybook, learn about the story's original narrator and how we adapted it into a storybook, and view more artwork.
On November 8, 2023, the SSBMI Language Department and Exhibits & Collections Center hosted Beeteyihí (Storytime). We shared stories and created artwork inspired by the story "May" (Salmon), as originally told by Tom Cleanso.
Click here to learn more about this event, including to listen to audio recordings of the stories we shared, view the artwork, and access other materials.
The SSBMI Lanuage Department has created "feelings" posters for learning to ask and talk about how you feel in Nisenan and Miwok. If you would like a free poster, please visit our office in the Tribal Administration building.
Click here to learn more, including to learn how to ask how someone is feeling in Nisenan and Miwok, and how to respond in both languages.
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We are creating fun activity sheets for learning Nisenan and Miwok at home, including coloring pages, word searches, and other games. Click here to download and learn more!
We are working with the SSBMI Exhibits & Collections Center to adapt traditional stories into storybooks as part of the SSBMI Nisenan Storytelling Collection. Click here to learn more!
We host regular Nisenan language classes for Education Center staff members, so that they can use the language with the Tribal Member youth. Click here to access our past lessons.
We co-host periodic Beeteyihí (Storytime) events with the SSBMI Exhibits & Collections Center, where we share traditional stories and facilitate discussions with Tribal Members. Click here to learn more!
We helped develop the Nisenan-language signage being used at the Mómtim Péwinan exhibit at the Sacramento History Museum, which is curated by SSBMI staff. Click here to learn more!
Did you know that we post Nisenan and Miwok language content on social media everyday as part of our "Word of the Day" campaign? Follow the Cultural Resources Division on Facebook to learn more!
This website is under construction. Please check back soon for more language content!
This website is maintained by SSBMI Language Department staff in order to share Nisenan and Miwok language learning resources with the Tribal Membership and other learners. Our current team consists of: Jonathan Geary, Richenda Ervin, and Skye Anderson. The Nisenan and Miwok audio recordings that you will find on this website are recordings of Jonathan, Richenda, and Skye. We are all learners of the Nisenan and Miwok languages, and we hope that you will join us in learning Nisenan and Miwok too!
The SSBMI Language Department is part of the Cultural Resources Division of the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians. We host regular Nisenan and Miwok language classes and other language-learning events, develop Nisenan and Miwok learning resources (e.g. language games, books, and self-paced learning materials), and share Nisenan and Miwok language information via other means such as an ongoing word-of-the-day campaign on social media (please follow the Cultural Resources Division on Facebook!). If you would like to know more about our efforts, or if you have any questions about the Nisenan and/or Miwok languages, please contact us at Language@ssband.org.
Kɨɨpetím nisek’é mi! Sitapay’omís! (We thank you! Take care of yourself!)