Indigenous Gateway Project (IGP)

LIS Solutions and Maya Bridge, two industry leading language service providers, have teamed together to develop a first of its kind indigenous language glossary. The Indigenous Gateway Project (IGP) promotes language conservation and continuity while acting as a living resource to build and maintain languages as they evolve. As indigenous populations integrate into new societies this will further enable a faster and more efficient assimilation.

The highest percentage of Unaccompanied Children crossing the southern border originate from Honduras, Guatemala, and Mexico, and many of these children speak an indigenous language. As part of continuing our ongoing support for Health and Human Services (HHS), Office of Refugee Resettlement, Team LIS built the glossary working with native language speakers in their home countries, with over seventy terms focused on typical words and phrase that one might use in interactions with Unaccompanied Children, in Spanish, and the following indigenous languages:

The glossary includes a spreadsheet with translations for all languages, and audio folders for each language. It is a tool for Team LIS interpreters and translators as they provide support to HHS, the Department of Homeland Security, and other federal, state, and local customers. Benefits include improved communication and reduced misunderstandings and enhanced cultural understanding by providing context-specific terminology and cultural nuances.

Maya Bridge was created with a singular purpose — to increase access to Mayan language interpretation services. With the dramatic surge in migration from Central America to the United States, the need for interpretation in Mayan languages has become a national crisis.

Our goal is to increase the available pool of Mayan language interpreters to be able to handle the massive demand for interpretation. We are proud to have the largest team of Q’eqchi’ (Kekchi) interpreters in the US.

Learn More Information about Maya Bridge Language Services

LIS Solutions was established in 1994 to bring equality and opportunity to the citizens of America. Recognizing the extensive challenges present by communication barriers, LIS brought innovative solutions to bridge the gap while creating a safe and secure environment in which individuals could defend themselves and freely pursue their dreams, regardless of background or origin.

We succeed in helping our customers make better, faster decisions at critical junctures. Most importantly, we seek to provide safety and security in the United States and around the world.