SHI launches intermediate Tlingit language course
New online course builds on beginner program, now available through 7000 Languages platform
Jan. 26, 2026
Sealaska Heritage Institute (SHI) has launched an intermediate Tlingit language course through the 7000 Languages platform, marking the first time an intermediate-level course has been offered in this format.
The new course builds on the beginner Tlingit Language Asynchronous Course, which was initially designed for families and staff of the Tlingit Culture Language and Literacy (TCLL) program within Juneau School District in partnership with SHI. Both courses are now available online, where more than 400 learners are registered.
The courses are self-paced and save learners’ progress as they work through the material. Designed to teach one phrase at a time, each lesson engages learners through multiple activities in reading, listening, repetition and pronunciation.
The designer of the course, Anna Neelaatughaa Clock (Koyukon, Eyak), believes that exposing students to a small amount of information in various and repetitive activities helps them learn most efficiently. Each lesson builds on the previous one.
The beginner course includes three units with nine lessons each, teaching learners to introduce themselves, ask someone else about their background and have a small conversation about eating.
Neelaatughaa follows the language guidance of her Elder mentor Shaaxʼsáani Kéekʼ (Shirley Kendall). In developing the course, she consulted regularly with X̱ʼunei (Lance Twitchell) and the TCLL language teaching team.
The Tlingit language is spoken by Tlingit people living primarily in Southeast Alaska. The TCLL program is a place-based, culture-based program serving children in kindergarten through eighth grade.
The Tlingit Language Asynchronous Course was developed in partnership by SHI, Anna Clock, TCLL, Transparent Language and 7000 Languages.
For more information, visit 7000.org/tlingit.
Sealaska Heritage Institute is a non-profit tribal organization founded in 1980 to perpetuate and enhance Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian cultures of Southeast Alaska. SHI also conducts scientific and public policy research that promotes Alaska Native arts, cultures, history and education statewide. The institute is governed by a Board of Trustees and guided by a Council of Traditional Scholars, a Native Artist Committee, a Southeast Regional Language Committee and a newly formed Education Committee.
CONTACT: Therese Pokorney, SHI Communications Officer, therese.pokorney@sealaska.com