A Wealth of Knowledge: Treasuring the Jicarilla Apache Language Among the Youth

Izreonia A.N Harrison

Jicarilla Apache Nation & Navajo Nation

“Jicarilla Apache Nation Flag.” Infobase, Facts On File. American Indian History, online.infobase.com/Auth/Index?aid=18626&itemid=WE43&iid=202314. Accessed 28 Oct. 2025.

Lucero, Nicole. "Portrait". 19 October 2025

“Navajo Nation Flag.” Infobase, Facts On File. American Indian History, online.infobase.com/Auth/Index?aid=18626&itemid=WE43&iid=202375. Accessed 28 Oct. 2025.

IDENTITY

Lucero, Nicole. "Family". 10 September 2019

"Sharing One Skin" Okanagan Community

by Jeannette Armstrong

This article "Sharing One Skin" Okanagan Community by Jeannette Armstrong tells us how the Okanagans stay connected and move as one. It gives a perspective of how every Indigenous community should be. The breakdown of how to stay connected to yourself, culture, nature, and people around you shows big time in this article. The connection to the earth and land gives us our teachings, language, and traditional ways that are essential to us. It says you have to identify yourself through your clans, prayer, and family.

Armstrong, Jeannette. "Sharing One Skin: The Okanagan Community." The case against the Global Economy. edited by Jerry Mander and Edward Goldsmith. Sierra Club books, (1996): 460-470

Lucero, Nicole. "Kindergarten". 23 July 2013

And then I went to school

by Joe Suina

This article is based on the painful boarding schools that took away our Indigenous culture. Suina talks about the struggles us Natives people have experienced at a very young age. The discrimination, hate, and being treated poorly has made us become strong and together as a community. Everything that we have went through gives us a idea to stay connected with our culture, medicine, and people. Having to leave your home for the whitemen way hurts deeply towards your culture identity and who you are as a person.

Suina, Joe. "And then I went to school." New Mexico Journal of Reading, vol.5, no.2 (1985)

Harrison, Izreonia. "Archuleta Mountain". 13 June 2023

How place names impact the way we see landscape by B. Toastie

This article is centered around the colonial names taking away the connection for people with land. Many Indigenous are not happy with non relevant people that are named after our sacred parts of lands. It takes away the connection and the way we see the land, having to be reminded of those people every time you want to connect, talk, or be blessed is not the ideal way. Toastie puts a strong word out for our people and the change they want to achieve.

Toastie. B. "How place names impact the way we see landscape." High Country News. 1 May 2022.

HISTORY

Harrison, Izreonia. "Team". 21 October 2025

Thousands of Native Students attend Albuquerque

By Bella Davis

This article is based on Native students that grew up in the cities away from their Indigenous cultures. It shows that being away from your home town or people who aren't similar to you can cause a downfall of how you see things. It can give you the discouragement and shamefulness of your Indigenous culture. Being away can also affect your Native self and being distant about your tradition and language. It shows a good and well knowledge perspective of how it feels to lose your culture to the white men way. The feeling of seeing your people in certain areas brings many students comfort of being okay and having a person that could understand you.

Davis, Bella. "Thousands of Native Students attend Albuquerque Schools. Most Will Never Have a Native Teacher." New Mexico in Depth(NM). 10 Oct 2022.

Harrison, Izreonia. "Stars" 28 November 2025

The United Nations permanent forum on Indigenous Issues (UN Department of Public Information)

This article gives good data and perspective of how the world is losing so much languages that are important to the people. It gives ideas and examples that most programs are helping the Indigenous communities. Also shows how many threats and endangerment we have against our languages. Helps promote and get out word to the world of the loss we are having due to "no longer transmitting by parents to children" because in most scenarios you don't see this happening in the Indigenous communities when they need it.

UN Department of Public Information. "The United Nations permanent forum on Indigenous Issues." 19 April 2018.

Harrison, Izreonia. "Cousins" 5 October 2020

The Government Plot to Erase Native Languages

Courtesy of AJ+, Youtube Video

This video is essential to the Oceti Sakowin and many people that are trying to revive their native language. It gives history and present advice for those willing to learn their language and culture. It gives purpose to us in a way of wanting to keep our Native history alive. The participation coming from youth and others will be inspiriable to other communities struggling with loss of culture. Boarding Schools also had a big impact on people during their younger days. It affected their way of seeing things and letting them get into drugs and alcohol that is making a big change in their Native and everyday life.

AJ+. " The Government Plot to Erase Native Languages." Youtube. 19 Aug 2021.

Current State of Issue

Harrison, Izreonia. "Double" 27 September 2024

Beyond Words: The Power of Native Language Revitalization

By: NCAI (The Sentinel Podcast)

This Podcast focuses on the essential to keeping a successful tribal communities and that is our language. In this episode they point out the problem among us, and does research in different Native communities to see their creative solutions to language loss. They talk about a panel discussion in 2024 held in Cherokee, North Carolina. This discussion had different tribe representatives talk about their challenges and strategies they encountered with language. All representatives talked about passing down language in a oral transmission to give tem that custom knowledge. The NCAI has funded programs and schools to establish Native language classes. A common theme is younger generation being exposed to other languages in school. Plus the resources and support for these Native language programs is close to none. They put out the statement that when a language fades, it is not only words that are lost, but an entire way of life.

NCAI(The Sentinel Podcast) "Beyond Words: The Power of Native Language Revitalization." 1 July 2024

Harrison, Izreonia. "Clouds" 25 January 2026

Lost Languages Means Lost Cultures

by Alyssa Arns and Kristen LaRue-Sandler

This article Lost Languages means lost cultures talks about the importance of keeping your connection towards your own language. Having the ability to speak your Native Language is a blessing that you should cherish forever. More than a dozen Native languages have gone extinct most likely more than we think. The revitalization of these cultures and their identities are a big key to this program started by Peterson. A lot of our history and trauma has affected our strength in culture and language that we have. Language holds a strong history of us in names, songs, dances, and our resistance to survival.

ASU News. "Lost Languages Mean Lost Cultures." 11 April 2025

Global Connections

Harrison, Izreonia. "Goal" 28 February 2026

In Chile a language on the verge of extinction, stirs into life

By John Bartlett

Different communities worldwide lose language everyday but in the Atacama Desert, they are putting work to revitalize. The Ckunsa language was declared extinct in the 1950s but now it is in the education systems. They went through discrimination for speaking their own language rather than Spanish. This community is preserving through all their struggles like older people with great knowledge passing away. Although they have all their problems they tend to always have a solution. Everything they do and reach is all in their language passing on from generation to generation.

Bartlett, John. "In Chile a language on the verge of extinction, stirs into life." 14 October 2024

Harrison, Izreonia. "Dzil" 5 July 2025

Africa's Endangered Languages: Voices Of Culture And Nature At Risk

By Adeliya Kabdulina

Every word in the language is important to Africa and they are fighting to keep every word alive. They're so many reason for their language going extinct leading from urbanization all the way to sigma. Africa is home to 200 languages with every language carrying knowledge and wisdom. They are providing so much tools like oral stories, history, digital tools, and dictionaries to the youth for support of their language. Although they think social media is a reason for language loss, they also believe it can help them in the long run to get kids to acknowledge their language.

Kabdulina, Adeliya. " Africa's Endangered Languages: Voices Of Culture And Nature At Risk." 4 July 2025

Harrison, Izreonia. "Campgrounds" 14 September 2024

Southern Asia's endangered traditional languages

By Oz Herza, Veena Thoopkrajae

Every year we lose close to 100 languages and maybe more. It can come to a point where we never speak it again. DIfferent languages but same community and they are still pursuing every language to all their younger generation. Learning different languages apart from your own will impact the connection you can have with your family. To maintain the culture and heritage that comes with your language is essential towards the generations coming after you. Even when you have plenty of people speaking the language it can still become extinct.

ThaiPBS WORLD. "Southeast Asia's endangered traditional languages." 24 November 2025

Action Plan

Ortiz, Jillian. “Group Picture” 1 December 2025.

Action Plan 1:

Importance of Language From Different Communities

On December 1st 2025, I planned to gather girls from my different communities that stay in the dorm. I gave them a short explanation of how language is important to our culture and identity. Also I gave them my perspective of growing up around the language and how it affected my education experience. Therefore, they got a better understanding of what my SHP will be about and how it is good for us to learn our language when being away from school. Then I asked the girls if they wanted to share their thoughts on how important they see their language being a valuable key to their community and identity. Getting a perspective of how other Native communities see their language is important because we all share different ways to embrace and associate our culture within our daily lives.

Gleason, Antonia “Culture Books” 8 May 2026

Action Plan 2:

Interacting with Heritage Among the Youth

On May 8, 2026, for my Spring Action I plan to do it with my little brother's second grade class. I set up a two fun activities to get a visual representation of what they see their culture like. The activities are a show and tell where they bring an item from home that makes them feel proud of who they are and what makes it important. The next activity is going to be making a little book where they can draw pictures of foods, cultural events they enjoy, words they hear in their language, and the clothes they wear for important events.I had done this in my Jicarilla class when I was in elementary and wanted to share it with those younger. This wouldn’t have been accomplished with Ms. Gleason, I thank her for letting me do the activities with her class. I chose to do this with the elementary because children around 7 or 8 need to learn the importance of their culture. Starting at their age that is when the mind starts to comprehend everything and it sticks, it is easier to learn their language now rather than later. I also chose this because it is a great hands-on activity especially at their age when they like to draw, talk, and make cool things.

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