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 created new coloring pages which you can use to learn and practice Nisenan and Miwok Wintertime language 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.
The SSBMI Lanuage Department created a food-themed Nisenan language poster for talking about foods and mealtime, which we shared at the Education Center's Harvest Potluck celebration on November 22, 2024.
Our "Let's Eat!" poster focuses on Nisenan language phrases that you can use to announce meals and talk about eating and drinking different kinds of foods.
Click here to learn more about the poster, including to listen to audio recordings of the Nisenan language that we shared and to learn how to receive a copy.
The SSBMI Language Department created resources for learning Nisenan & Miwok language for Halloween. This includes language pins, stickers, and activity sheets which we are sharing at the Tribe's Halloween events this year, like the Ed Center's Pumpkin Patch (October 18).
Halloween is an opportune space for us to share Nisenan and Miwok language that our youth (and adult) learners ask for, such as names for types of bats, frogs, and spiders. We are also sharing Halloween phrases like how to say "Trick or Treat!" and how to ask for candy.
Click here to learn more about our Halloween language materials, including to listen to audio recordings of the Nisenan and Miwok language that we shared.
The SSBMI Lanuage Department & the SSBMI Traditional Ecological Knowledge Department created a Big Time-themed language poster, which we shared at the Tribe's Lumáy (Big Time) celebration on August 24-25, 2024.
Our Big Time poster features Nisenan language phrases that you can use to talk about activities you might do at Lumáy, Huslá (Small Time), and other events.
Click here to learn more about the poster, including to listen to audio recordings of the Nisenan language that we shared and to learn how to receive a copy.
The SSBMI Lanuage Department hosted its third Language Day Camp in July 2024, where we learned and used Nisenan language together with SSBMI Tribal Members while participating in activities hosted by Language, the Environmental Department, the Exhibits & Collections Center (ECC), and the Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) Department.
Participants learned Nisenan with the help of the Language Day Camp (LDC) Guidebook, and they earned a custom Hummingbird pin by completing all of the event activities.
Click here to learn more about this year's Language Day Camp, including to listen to audio recordings of the Nisenan language that we shared in the LDC Guidebook.
The SSBMI Lanuage Department hosted its second Folsom Zoo Language Trip in May 2024, where we toured the Folsom City Zoo Sanctuary with SSBMI Tribal Members & SSBMI TANF families while learning Nisenan and Miwok language for talking about the animals at the zoo.
Participants also earned a custom Black Bear pin by completing a scavenger hunt, learned from demonstrations hosted by the SSBMI Environmental & Traditional Ecological Knowledge Departments, & enjoyed Elderberry tea provided by the SSBMI Exhibits & Collections Center.
Click here to learn more about this year's Folsom Zoo Language Trip, including to listen to audio recordings of the Nisenan and Miwok language that we shared at the zoo.
The SSBMI Lanuage Department created custom "Go Fish!" cards for learning Nisenan and Miwok animal names and other language for talking about "having" and "giving".
Our "Welk’óy!" (Nisenan) and "Wélse’!" (Miwok) cards feature illustrations of 32 local animals along with their Nisenan/Miwok names. If you would like a copy, please visit our offices in the Tribal Admin building.
Click here to learn more, including to listen to audio recordings of the Nisenan & Miwok language included on our "Go Fish!" cards and other language for playing "Go Fish!" in Nisenan and Miwok.
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 created new 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.
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The SSBMI Lanuage Department created "feelings" posters for learning to ask and talk about how you feel in Nisenan & Miwok. If you would like a free poster, please visit our offices 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.
We are asking SSBMI employees to use Nisenan & Miwok greetings in their employment capacities. Click here to learn more about our Greetings Initiative and join us in learning these greetings!
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 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 are sharing Nisenan songs which you can share with your family, including traditional songs and new lyrics that are written by SSBMI Language Department staff. Click here to learn more!
We create stickers that feature Nisenan and Miwok language as well as provide translations for external events and programs. Click here to learn more, inlcuding to listen to audio recordings!
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 Northern Sierra Miwok too!
The SSBMI Language Department is part of the Cultural Resources Division of the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians. We host Nisenan and Miwok language classes and other language-focused events, create Nisenan and Miwok learning resources (e.g. language games, books, activity sheets, and self-paced learning materials), and share Nisenan and Miwok language information via other means such as an ongoing social media campaign (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.
Wenném! Sitapáy’omís! (Thank you! Take care of yourself!)
Webpage last updated: 2024-12-06