Today we’re bringing you something a bit different, made by our friends at NPR’s long-running, award-winning podcast, Code Switch.

Many Lakota people agree: It’s imperative to revitalize the Lakota language. But how exactly to do that is a matter of broader debate. Should Lakota be codified and standardized to make learning it easier? Or should the language stay as it always has been, defined by many different ways of writing and speaking? We explore this complex, multi-generational fight that’s been unfolding in the Lakota Nation, from Standing Rock to Pine Ridge.

Subscribe to Code Switch, and hear more episodes at: https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510312/codeswitch