Nakón-i’a wo! Beginning Nakoda is a language resource designed to help revitalize and document Nakoda, now spoken in Montana and Saskatchewan.

Written for beginning learners of Nakoda (also known as Assiniboine), this workbook, arranged thematically, provides a Nakoda/English lexicon, a vocabulary, a table of kinship terms, a glossary of linguistic terminology, and exercises to do after each lesson. This book was made possible with the assistance of Elders and Language Keepers of the Nakoda Nation: Armand McArthur and Wilma Kennedy, Main Consultants; with additional contributions by Pete Bigstone, Leona Kroscamp, Freda O'Watch, and Ken Armstrong.

Vincent Collette is a professor of linguistics at the Université du Québec à Chicoutimi, and the editor of Nakón-i’a wo! Beginning Nakoda and A Concise Dictionary of Nakoda (Assiniboine). He is interested in Indigenous languages of North America, and is specialized in historical linguistics, semantics, and morphology.

Vincent Collette's profile page

Armand McArthur is from the Siyónide Nakóna Oyáde (Pheasant Rump First Nation) and of mixed Wadopana-Įhą́ ktųwan origin. He is a Nakoda language instructor at First Nations University of Canada and also leads Nakoda language classes in Pheasant Rump.

Armand McArthur's profile page

Wilma Kennedy (1923–2020) Heȟága hóta’į wį́yą (Echo of the elk woman) was an educator and activist from Carry the Kettle Nakoda First Nation. She was involved with the Nakoda community’s culture and traditions, and co-authored Nakón-i’a wo! Beginning Nakoda and A Concise Dictionary of Nakoda (Assiniboine).

Wilma Kennedy's profile page

• Winner, Saskatchewan Book Awards, Publishing in Education,
• Short-listed, Saskatchewan Book Awards, Indigenous Peoples’ Publishing

Winner, Saskatchewan Book Awards, Publishing in Education, 2021
Shortlisted, Saskatchewan Book Awards, Indigenous Peoples’ Publishing, 2020