Chiwere

Chiwere, also known as Iowa-Otoe-Missouria, is a Siouan language historically spoken by the Ioway, Otoe, and Missouria peoples of the central United States. It comprises three closely related dialects—the Ioway (Iowa), Otoe, and Missouria dialects—once spoken across present-day Iowa, Nebraska, and Missouri. Today, Chiwere is endangered, with only a small number of fluent speakers, primarily older adults, concentrated in Oklahoma and the Plains states. Community and academic efforts support revitalization through language classes, youth immersion programs, documentation projects, and the development of teaching materials.

Classification and relationship: Chiwere is a member of the Siouan language family and is associated with the Oto-Missouria linguistic group. It is closely related among its three dialects and shares grammatical features and vocabulary with other members of the Chiwere language cluster.

Phonology and grammar (brief): Like many Siouan languages, Chiwere relies on suffixing verbal morphology to encode person, number, tense or aspect, mood, and other grammatical categories. The language uses a Latin-based orthography in modern publications and educational materials.

Documentation and resources: Descriptive grammars, dictionaries, and text collections have been produced by linguists and tribal researchers. Ongoing revitalization efforts include community language programs, school curricula, and archival work to preserve recordings and texts for future study.

See also: Siouan languages; Ioway language; Otoe language; Missouria language; Oto-Missouria people.