Honoring Our Fathers

As we get ready to honor hour dads this Father’s Day, we at AIANTA queried our tribes and other language experts on how to address male family members in their Native languages. (We extend warm thanks to everyone who helped contribute to this and all our indigenous language posts.)

We had a great response (see below), but it’s never too late to contact us to add your own language to our list.

Aleut, Eastern dialect, Alaska

English	Singular	Posessive
Father	Ada{	Adang
Grandfather	Latu}i{	Latu}ing
Son	La{	Lang
Brother	Braata{ (Russian loan word)	Braatang
Uncle	Yaaya{ (Russian loan word)	Yaayang
Nephew	Umni{	Uming

Tlingit, Sitka Tribe, Alaska

My Father	Ax Éesh
My Grandfather	Ax Léelk’w
His/Her Son	Du yéet
His Older Brother	Du Húnxw
Her Brother	Du éek’
His/Her Paternal Uncle	Du sáni
His Sororal Nephew	Du Kéilk’{

‘Ōlelo Hawai‘i (Hawaiian Language), Hawai‘i

Father	Makuakāne
Grandfather	Kupunakāne
Son/Boy	Keikikāne
Brother (generally, and to a sister)	Kaikunāne
Older Brother (to a brother)	Kaikuaʻana
Younger Brother (to a brother)	Kaikaina
Nephew (or Niece)	ʻOhana Keiki

Tunica, Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana

Father	esiku
Grandfather	ihchaku
Son	imilaku (affectionately, “my boy”)
Brother (Same Sex Sibling)	ihtat’ɛku
Brother (Opposite Sex Sibling)	ɛhɛyaku
Maternal Uncle	ikiku
Maternal Aunt’s Husband	esisahuku
Older Paternal Uncle	esit’ɛku
Younger Paternal Uncle	esitohkuku
Nephew (Sister’s Child)	ehtohkuku
Nephew (Brother’s Child)	ehkutosahuku

Tiwa/Northern Tiwa, Taos Pueblo, New Mexico

Dad

Dama

Mohawk, New York

My Father	rake’níha
Your Father	ia’niha
His Father	ro’niha
Her Father	ronwa’niha
Dad	rákeni
My Grandfather	rakhsótha
My Younger Brother	ri’kén:’a
My Older Brother	rakhtsí:’a
My Uncle	rakenonhá:’a
My Nephew	ehtohkuku
My Grandson	riiateré:’a

Disappearing Languages

In February, the United Nations proclaimed 2019 to be the year of Indigenous Languages, so every month this year, AIANTA is showcasing different words and phrases to highlight the diversity in our Native languages.

According to UNESCO, approximately 600 languages have disappeared in the last century. More alarmingly, they continue to disappear at a rate of one language every two weeks. If this pace continues, up to 90 percent of the world’s languages are likely to disappear before the end of this century.

In the United States, according to the Indigenous Language Institute, there were more than 300 indigenous languages. Today, about 175 remain, although this number may shrink to 20 by 2050 if efforts aren’t made to preserve these languages.

For more information on the Year of Indigenous Languages, visit iyil2019.org/ or follow the hashtag #IY2019).

Language Resources

American Indian Language Development Institute

Northwest Indian Language Institute

Indigenous Language Institute

Consortium of Indigenous Language Organizations

Advocates for Indigenous California Language Survival

Note: The words and phrases in this post were provided by members of the various tribes listed. Spellings and translations may vary. Some words may be missing accents or symbols due to limited characters on a keyboard.

We’re happy to add your language and/or hear corrections and suggestions on spellings and translations, so please contact us at info@aianta.org.

Honoring Our Fathers