28th Annual
Heritage Language Conference
San Juan School District
Welcome from Superintendent Ron Nielson
November 19, 2021
Dear Conference Attendees,
Welcome to the 28th Annual Heritage Language Conference, themed “Sharing Stories to Unite, Empower and Educate.”
I have always loved literature, and especially literature that has special meaning and personal value. The stories of my own ancestors have taught me great lessons and have kept their memories close, despite not having met them. Storytelling is a vital educational aspect of our heritage. The gifts of sharing our stories, both past and present, UNITE us to each other. So often we learn life lessons, heroic moments, and difficult experiences from the stories we share. The stories of successes EMPOWER us. The stories of challenges EDUCATE us.
I am amazed at the creativity and reverence the Storytellers bring into our world. We are, in our own experiences creating a story that can unite, empower and educate ourselves and those we share our story with. We are currently in a chapter that is unlike any other. Generations ahead will speak of our challenges from a worldwide struggle with a complicated illness, the change of “normal” life, and a continued effort to succeed despite this hardship. I applaud our communities, and especially our children, for being warriors of today’s stories, for persevering, and for continuing this story with us. This year, at our annual Heritage Language Conference, join with me and our wonderful panel of speakers as we again unite in this journey of “Sharing Stories to Unite, Empower and Educate” at our annual conference. Let us continue to nurture the heritage and culture that has made each of us resilient and proud of our ancestors, and to become more unified in our QUEST to create more of our own story.
As Superintendent of Schools, I personally express my gratitude to the dedicated team who organizes the conference, agenda and curriculum, fostering the connection of both cultural honor and education for all our students. The efforts of our Staff, Faculty and Administration are vital in this process, and I can attest that we continually support our unified QUEST in meeting the needs of our students.
I sincerely thank you for your attendance today.
Regards,
Ron T. Nielson Superintendent San Juan School District
Welcome from Miss Navajo Nation 2022
Niagara Rockbridge
KEYNOTE SPEAKER Dustin Jansen
Presenters
Hozho
A Walk In Beauty
This book project came about last fall (2020) because I heard the words, “They left with their stories in them” over and over from my Dine’ community. While listening to my staff about the emotional toil that Covid was wrecking, I felt an impression to invite our students to write about their loved ones while they were learning at home. I introduced the idea to my staff right then and they agreed, this would be something that could not only help them academically, but maybe assist in healing some of their grief. Thanks to a generous donation from a former employer, we miraculously had the funding to cover publishing expenses. Teachers came up with questions and guidelines for the writing project and the packet of instructions was made ready and handed out to each family for the month of November, our American Indian Heritage month. We invited MVHS to join us in this venture, which they quickly supported and made it their Capstone project for term 2. We received stories from every grade level and teachers selected those who took the project seriously. With most of the editing done by elementary and HS teachers as well as Mr. Freed, we pulled off a miracle and got the book published by the end of April, so it was ready to hand out to our students at the end of the year. The beautiful artwork on the cover and inside was done by Mr. Jason Quinn, our 4th grade teacher, who loves this community and selflessly shares his vast talents with grace and humility. All proceeds from the sale of this book will go directly to MVHS student scholarships to further their education. Books can be purchased at the schools or in local stores and museums. We hope to get it online soon.
Denece Kitto
Student Story Tellers
Student Poetry Contest Winners
Conference Evaluation