Indigenous Language Institute (ILI)

Beginning in 2010, the annual Indigenous Language Institute Symposium is our flagship event, bringing together language revitalization leaders, educators, and advocates from across the country. This multi-day gathering is a powerful platform for sharing ideas, showcasing best practices, and inspiring collective action. Key features of the ILI Symposium include workshops, panels, a research showcase, cultural events, and opportunities for networking and collaboration. The symposium underscores the critical importance of language preservation and serves as a catalyst for energizing efforts across Indigenous communities. This year's theme focuses on a key shift many communities are working through right now, moving from learning language to actively speaking and using it in daily life. Creating more speakers and building environments where language is used consistently in homes, schools, workplaces, and community spaces is more urgent than ever. This theme emphasizes that language use begins with each individual. When people choose to speak, practice, and use the language in everyday situations, it creates momentum that extends into families and communities. This is how language grows. Through workshops, interactive activities, presentations, and sessions, the symposium will focus on practical ways to strengthen speaking, support daily use, and learn from communities that are already creating spaces where language is used regularly. ILIS 2026 will highlight what it looks like when language is not only taught, but actively spoken and shared across personal journeys and communities. ILIS brings together language learners, speakers, and communities from all over to connect, share, and grow. This year's theme reminds us that language starts with each of us and grows when we use it together every day. Symposium experiences include Keynote Speakers, Presentations, Workshops & Panels, Community Networking, Cultural Night, and an Indigenous Artist Market.