The Nitsii’poowahtsin Language Preservation and Revitalization Project is an immersion initiative rooted in cultural preservation, healing, and connection. At the heart of it all? Seven families who have committed to raising their babies in Nitsipohwaahsin—the Blackfeet language.

Led by fluent speakers and elders, this project offers intensive weekly sessions, land-based learning, and full immersion to help families become confident, everyday speakers of our language. But it’s more than just a class—it’s a way of life.

During the boarding school era, our language was silenced. That interruption led to generations growing up without it, and in 2016, Nitsipohwaahsin was officially listed as “endangered.” Most fluent speakers today are elders. If we don’t act now, we risk losing our language forever.

That’s why this work is so important. Babies' brains are wired for language in their earliest years. By hearing and speaking Nitsipohwaahsin every day at home and in their surroundings, these little ones are becoming first-language speakers—growing up knowing exactly who they are and where they come from.

This is community-led revitalization. Our elders are guiding the next generation. Parents are learning right alongside their children. And these babies? They're doing something powerful just by being themselves—playing, growing, and learning their language.

We’re building a fluent future, one word at a time.

Bringing Language Into Everyday Spaces

To help make the language more accessible to the community, we’ve partnered with Glacier Family Foods to launch a QR code initiative inside the store. Shoppers can scan the codes using their phone’s camera to hear short audio clips of Nitsipohwaahsin words and phrases. It’s a simple, hands-on way to bring the language back into daily life—one word at a time.