Yuchi language experts from Oklahoma visited Batchelor Institute's Desert Peoples Centre Campus in Mparntwe/Alice Springs this month to share insights on language revival with Central Australian communities.

Hosted by the Pertame School and Centre for Australian Languages and Linguistics (CALL), the event included songs, dances, a panel discussion, and a BBQ.

It was supported by a grant from the Seventh Generation Fund for Indigenous Peoples and was open to First Nations communities.

Pertame Language Coordinator at CALL, Vanessa Farrelly, said the event was designed to inspire and equip local communities.

"This event was about sharing inspiration and practical know-how," Ms Farrelly said.

"The Yuchi story shows what's possible."

She said both the Pertame and Yuchi communities have experienced the impact of language loss due to assimilation policies and are now working to restore cultural strength by creating new generations of fluent speakers.

The Yuchi are an Indigenous people of the southeastern United States, primarily based in Oklahoma, USA.

Despite being forcibly relocated and subjected to assimilation policies, the Yuchi have preserved distinct cultural and linguistic traditions that are now being revived through community-led efforts.

The Yuchi language, once believed to be lost, has been revitalised through immersion methods.

Ms Halay Turning Heart, a Yuchi language advocate, highlighted the importance of intergenerational transmission.​

"This is our opportunity and our responsibility to continue that line," Ms Turning Heart said on the 2 Lives Podcast.

From a single speaker, the community has grown to between 40 and 60 fluent speakers, with young children now learning Yuchi from infancy.

CALL is aiming to revive the Pertame language, a critically endangered dialect of Arrernte with fewer than 30 speakers.

The Pertame program focuses on training parent educators to build language transmission at the community level.