Danielle Boyer: Robotics & Keeping Native Languages Alive

Rebel Girls

Kids & Family, Stories For Kids, Education For Kids

4.5 • 7.2K Ratings

🗓️ 16 September 2025

⏱️ 19 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Danielle Boyer is an Ojibwe inventor, scientist, and advocate. She invented the Skobot, an educational and fun robot that translates Native languages for children. Through the Skobot, Danielle has made learning Native languages accessible and entertaining for kids. Listen in to learn more about how Danielle Boyer is preserving culture through language! This podcast is a production of Rebel Girls. It’s based on the book series Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls. This episode was narrated by Robin Regalado. It was produced by Rebecca Chaisson and directed by Ashton Carter, with sound design and mixing by Carter Woghan. The story was written by Rebecca Chaisson and edited by Haley Dapkus. Arianna Griffiths was our intern. Fact checking by Danielle Roth. Our executive producers were Haley Dapkus, Anjelika Temple, and Jes Wolfe. Original theme music was composed and performed by Elettra Bargiacchi. A special thanks to the whole Rebel Girls team, who make this podcast possible! Until next time, staaaay rebel!

Transcript

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0:00.0	Listen.
0:07.0	Hello?
0:09.0	Booju.
0:10.0	Ha ha ha ha ha ha.
0:15.0	Danielle Boyer was thrilled.
0:18.0	It had worked.
0:19.0	The word boojou didn't come from a person. The voice had come from a
0:24.1	small dome-shaped robot on Danielle's shoulder. A robot she had designed and built herself.
0:31.6	When Danielle spoke in English, the robot spoke back to her in Inishinaab Moan, the native language of Ojibwe people.
0:39.3	Aibwe people are an indigenous tribe
0:42.3	from the northern United States and southern parts of Canada.
0:46.3	It felt magical to hear Anishinaabe Moan come out of the little brown robot.
0:51.3	And it didn't even sound robotic.
0:53.3	That was intentional.
0:55.0	Danielle had spent months collecting recordings of people of all ages
1:00.2	saying lots of different words in their Ojibwe language.
1:03.2	Many indigenous kids had never heard their native language spoken aloud,
1:08.1	especially in a voice that sounded like their own.
1:11.6	Danielle designed these robots to change that.
1:15.6	Now, sitting here and talking with her scobot, all the research, all the recordings, all the coding, and the designing, all of it was worth it.
1:26.6	To preserve her community's language and to show people
1:30.2	everywhere that native girls belong in tech.
	...

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