A Sugt’stun language game is quickly gaining recognition since its release in July 2023.
Developing educational technology skyrocketed during the COVID-19 pandemic. That’s when Native nonprofit Chugachmiut, known in part for its education and health services to tribes on the Kenai Peninsula, began developing an app that teaches Sugt’stun language and school readiness skills for preschool age children.
The app, named “Nunaka” the Sugt’stun word for “my village,” came out last year and has been recognized for its advancements in educational technology and social impact. Some notable awards include the Anthem Awards, EdTech Awards, GEE! Awards and Serious Play Award.
Chugachmiut is a nonprofit that serves Eyak and Sugpiaq communities across the Kenai Peninsula, Prince William Sound and the Copper River Delta, providing education, social services, health care and more.
Chugachmiut Deputy Director Phyllis Wimberley said she came up with this idea more than a decade ago.
“I've been thinking about this game since 2012 and it was a matter of getting the funding,” Wimberley said.
She said she wanted a game that taught the language and skills to prepare children for school, like counting and fine motor skills.
The funding ended up coming from the U.S. Department of Education. Chugachmiut began developing the game in 2021 with game development company FableVision.
The game takes place in a fictional Suqpiaq village. Players control a customizable character and play minigames to complete tasks for their grandparents. They create regalia, go fishing and pick berries, all while learning Sugt’stun words.
Wimberley said game developers visited Nanwalek and Port Graham, two Sugpiaq villages at the mouth of Kachemak Bay.
“They met with our children, they met with the elders. They recorded elders speaking,” Wimberley said. “It was really a wonderful experience for our game developers and for our elders and children as well.”
Children from the villages even got to test the game before its release. Wimberley said it was a hit.
“The children would just (go) ‘Ah,’ open their mouths. They were so thrilled with it, and they enjoyed playing it,” she said.
Wimberley said she hopes to keep ramping up the nonprofit’s education department, with plans for a language symposium in Feburary.