Language and Identity

Community Members

Mike Connolly

Mike Connolly is a member of the Campo Kumeyaay Nation. Connolly has a very special way of expressing the importance of bridging language and identity to all lessons that are given to Native American and Indigenous youth. Scholars mention that Connolly helped develop the Kumeyaay Curriculum and continues to share the need for educators to deliver the curriculum in an appropriate way to students so that culture, language, and identity are bridged.

Noe Alvarado

Noe Alvarado is a trilingual (English, Spanish, Mixteco) Mixtec school psychologist, a graduate of SDSU’s school psychology and Native Scholars Projects. Scholars noted that Alvarado spoke of Indigenous knowledge within the Western education system and that educators must speak up in times of inequality in the school. Alvarado has said that “language is a culture carrier” and language must be carried on due to language loss in Indigenous communities.

Stan Rodriguez

Stan Rodriguez is a Iipay Kumeyaay bird singer from the Iipay Nation of Santa Ysabel, and Executive Director of Kumeyaay Community College. Scholars appreciate hearing Rodriguez’s story and his journey of learning his language, but he also speaks to the loss of language in the Kumeyaay community and discusses his research in language revitalization.

Conferences

California Genocide Conference

The California Genocide Conference is held for four days filled with presentations, music, documentary films, and political action sessions so attendees have a chance to learn more about the California genocide and Indigneous peoples’ history. Scholars have noted that this conference offers amazing presentations through storytelling and discusses the importance of language and identity of Native Americans in California.

NIEA Conference

The National Indian Education Association (NIEA) supports opportunities for culture-based education for American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians. NIEA promotes educational sovereignty, continuation of traditional knowledge and language, and educational opportunities and results in American Indian/Native communities. Scholars who have attended this conference have shared a breadth of knowledge regarding language revitalization at a local and systems level. They also shared current examples of schools, such as Indian Community School, that offer classes for Native specific languages and require staff to learn those Native languages as well.

Guest Speakers

Cutcha Risling Baldy

Cutcha Risling Baldy (Hupa, Karuk, Yurok) is Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Native American Studies at Humboldt State University. She focuses on Indigenous feminisms, California Indians, and decolonization. Scholars have appreciated Risling Baldy’s honest stories and experiences of language revitalization and identity within Native American and Indigenous communities. Risling Baldy emphasizes the sacredness of language and the importance of understanding the impact of language loss in Native communities.

Gwendalle Cooper

Dr. Gwendalle Cooper is an elder of the Cherokee Nation and is a Professor Emeritus of San Diego State University, American Indian Studies. Scholars appreciated Dr. Cooper’s explanation and outlook of the special relationship each individual's identity has to everything each individual does.

Linda Tuhiwai Smith

Linda Tuhiwai Smith (Ngati Awa and Ngati Porou) is a Professor of Education and Maori Development and Pro Vice Chancellor Maori at the University of Waikato in Hamilton, New Zealand. Scholars learned of language revitalization efforts and the power of creating language nests for children to learn their Native language. Tuhiwai Smith shared that language nests are an effective revitalization effort and can contribute to one’s cultural identity.