Madison Castillo
Instructor Tenorio
ENGL 1120-007
21, November 2025
Rationale Statement
The issue I am advocating for is the decline in Navajo speakers. This issue is important to me because the Navajo Language is in the early stages of endangerment. The amount of speakers is declining very fast in recent years and if this decline rate continues the language could disappear by the end of this century. I’m Navajo and I’m not fluent in my language. I have found out about the declining rates of the Navajo language from a presentation a few weeks ago and since then I have been reading a few articles about this issue. I’m afraid of what will happen in the future if more people do not begin their efforts in revitalizing the language. My intended audience are Navajo communities and the general audience. Because this impacts the Navajo Nation and revitalizing the language is a team effort. I chose this medium because I thought it would be easier to read for everybody. I included colors that I thought to be a warm earthy palette. Turquoise and red are significant colors culturally and spiritually which I included to connect to Navajo audiences. I also included a pie chart to my infographic poster to show the decline in Navajo speakers through the years and left what is to come in the future to the audience’s imagination if we don’t try to work to fix this issue. The emotional tone I’m trying to evoke is fear because the loss of the Navajo language is a scary issue that will escalate if nothing is done. I also added a small section at the bottom of my poster to give the audience some hope that many people are trying to revitalize the language. Pathos and Logos are the most used in my project to support my position. I’m hoping that this project can encourage families and younger generations to speak the language more or learn the language. I have used the Navajo Times newspaper, Tribal College Journal of American Indian Higher Education, and an academic journal to incorporate in my advocacy piece. This assignment challenged my understanding of writing and argument because I had a hard time trying to create a poster with all the information I thought would benefit the audience's understanding of my advocacy.
Works Cited
Denetclaw, Paul. “Data shows huge reduction in Diné speakers.” Navajo Times. 16, Nov. 2017, https://navajotimes.com/reznews/data-shows-huge-reduction-in-dine-speakers/
Hozien, Wafa. “Heartbeat of the Nation: Preserving Diné Bizaad at Navajo Technical University.” Tribal College Journal of American Indian Higher Education. Vol.35, no. 3- Spring 2024. 15, February 2024, Heartbeat of the Nation: Preserving Diné Bizaad at Navajo Technical University
Yi-Wen HUANG. “Language Loss and Translingual Identities near the Navajo Land.” International Journal of Language Studies, vol. 18, no. 2, Apr. 2024, pp. 113–28. EBSCOhost, https://doi-org.libproxy.unm.edu/10.5281/zenodo.10475306.
Madison Castillo
Instructor Tenorio
ENGL1120-007
25, November 2025
Advocacy Project Reflection
What issue did you choose and why does it matter to you personally or culturally?
The issue I chose is the decline in Navajo speakers. This matters to me personally because I’m Navajo and I unfortunately don’t speak my language. I can understand a few things but not enough to fully understand what is spoken. Growing up my family mainly spoke English and some Navajo but was never able to really pick it up. Because of this I have a bit of a disconnection to my family when they speak only in Navajo. My family participates in ceremonies and these ceremonies there are many things to be done. The people who know about these are elders and won’t be here forever. These elders in my family are teaching my aunts and uncles about these ceremonial practices to be continued on in the future for our family. But some of these practices might not get passed on like the singing and praying parts because my cousins and I don’t speak Navajo. We may lose these traditions in the future.
How did you decide on your audience, and what strategies did you use to reach them?
I decided on Navajo audiences and the general public because I feel everyone needs to know about this issue. This is something that takes a group effort to fix. Posting this in a school setting could reach more people who want to make a change. Especially educators who are working to involve the language into their schools. I made my project as a poster. I also feel if it is split up between the sections it can be created into a social media post. I chose this because I thought it would be easy to read especially if you were to skim through it like you would with any poster or social media post.
What rhetorical or stylistic choices do you feel were most effective in your project?
I believe my pathos and logos strategy are effective in creating fear especially when you have something visually to understand the numbers. This is most effective in understanding the gravity of this issue. I also believe the color palette and Navajo basket pie chart can be a way to draw in people from Navajo communities.
I used the rhetorical strategy logos in my project to show my audience the numbers of Navajo speakers. I put this in a pie chart to give a visual representation. The second rhetorical strategy I used was pathos. With the pie chart I feel this is the most effective in creating a sense of fear/worry in the declining number of Navajo speakers. At the bottom of my poster I also included "Revitalization Efforts” to not totally scare people too much but to show that there is hope. I also believe the color palette would be a way to draw in Navajo audiences because of the Turquoise and Red. These colors are significant spiritually and culturally.
How did this project challenge your thinking about writing as a form of advocacy or social change?
This project challenged me by strategizing different ways to write information to audiences that wouldn’t be too much or too little in a poster or other form of medium. I had so much I wanted to write but I had a hard time putting my words together to communicate this issue clearly. It was also challenging to try to inspire people to act and do something about the issue. I feel I did not do this well enough because I could’ve included how people or families could do something. Like speaking more Navajo at home with their children.
What do you hope your audience takes away from your work?
I hope my audience sees the number of Navajo speakers declining through the years and feel a sense of fear that will push them to make some effort in revitalizing the language in their families or communities. I hope my audience will be inspired by the efforts others are doing and will try to create more projects for younger generations to learn and speak Navajo. I also hope the general public will see and understand the importance of this issue.