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Hiráacarogare'e - A Siouan Language

Hiraca (also known as Hidatsa), along with the Nuue'taa (Mandan) and Apsaalooke (Crow) is a Missouri River Valley Siouan language. This branch of languages are considered part of a larger group called the Siouan Language Family. This is a big family known today to consist of more than 20 related languages (and tribal groups), all of which are considered to come from a prehistoric language that linguists & researchers call Proto-Siouan. Related languages and tribal groups also include the Dakotan (Lakota, Dakota, and Nakoda), Winnebago (Ho Chunk), and Chiwere (Ioway, Otoe, and Missouria) languages as well as the Quapaw, Omaha, Ponca, and Osage. 

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Family Tree of Siouan language- Rankin (2009)

Learn about sound in Hiraaca and how to write them

Prefixes & Suffixes

Common prefies and suffixes in Hiráaca

A breakdown of basic word order & sentence structure in Hiráaca

A printable PDF for the classroom, office or homespace. 

Learn how Hiráaca verbs are conjugated

Hiráaca Giguucgaara Language Course

We are excited to present this language course created in partnership with 7000 Languages using Transparent Languages language learning software. ​​This course was organized by Lisa Casarez and with the help of Amber Gwin, Delvin Driver Jr., Lyle Gwin Jr., Jayli Fimbres, Bheri Hallam, and Deann Birdsbill. This course is dedicated to our ancestors, the ones who have come before, our elders who help guide and support this work, the language workers working to reclaim and revive our language, to the community, this language is yours and it should always be here for you. To the generation of Hiráaca to come, we hope you find identity, connection and pride in what we are able to pass down to you. Nii eeca madanuxbaaga’o. 

Click here to sign up and access the course

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