In late April, part of Doyon Foundation’s Language Revitalization team and program consultants traveled to Galena to test a prototype of the Speak Denaakk’e with Molly game alongside students and educators in the community.

The team spent a day and a half in Mrs. Green’s classroom testing two versions of the game – one designed for kindergarten students and another for second graders. The project is part of an ongoing effort to create engaging, interactive tools that support Denaakk’e language learning for young learners.

In addition to working one-on-one with students, the team had the opportunity to observe several Denaakk’e language classes. It was inspiring to witness students actively engaged in learning their language and culture. One highlight of the trip was watching 5th–7th grade students perform songs in Denaakk’e, showcasing both their hard work and the strength of language revitalization efforts in the community.

The trip provided valuable feedback and insight into how students interact with the game in a real classroom setting. These experiences will help guide future improvements and development as the project continues to grow.

Enaa baasee’ to Mrs. Green, her students, and the Galena City School District for welcoming us into their classrooms and language learning spaces. We look forward to continuing this important work in the years ahead and developing more tools and games to support Denaakk’e language learning.

This project is made possible through funding from the U.S. Department of Education’s Alaska Native Education (ANE) Program (grant # S356A250057). The three-year grant supports the development of an online Denaakk’e educational language-learning game designed to improve language development outcomes for Alaska Native students.

The project was created in collaboration with GBH Media Services, the award-winning public media producer behind Molly of Denali, and the Yukon-Koyukuk School District.