Danielle Boyer creates SkoBot to teach endangered Anishinaabemowin to kids
Technology
SkoBot is a new robot created by Danielle Boyer to help teach endangered Indigenous languages like Anishinaabemowin, which has fewer than 10,000 speakers in the US
Inspired by Tickle Me Elmo, Boyer wanted kids to get excited about their language and culture.
Her nonprofit helps Native youth build their own SkoBots (woodland creature robots decorated with Native floral art) that use a form of AI to trigger pre-recorded audio for accurate lessons.
Holden Hoy shows Anishinaabemowin skobot
At a Michigan school science fair, 12-year-old Ojibwe student Holden Hoy showed off his SkoBot named Sabe, programmed to speak Anishinaabemowin.
Inspired by Bigfoot (a symbol of honesty), Holden said it's important not to rely on AI for cultural projects: "The language is the culture!"