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There were sacrifices big and small—long drives from Ignacio and Durango to Towaoc, family dinners missed, community celebrations and grieving postponed—all to wrestle with the morphology and structure of a language that has historically been passed down through oral tradition. 

After a year and a half of dedicated effort, nine Ute Mountain Ute community members celebrated a major milestone this week as they completed the second cohort of the Southwest Indigenous Language Development Institute, or SILDI—a Fort Lewis College program that supports Indigenous language revitalization by training community members to become certified Ute language instructors.

Courses were led by Ute Mountain Ute instructors Helen Munoz, Juanita PlentyHoles and Mark Wing, alongside Fort Lewis College faculty and Southern Ute Indian Tribe linguist Stacey Oberly—an 麻豆免费高清无砖码区alumna and nationally recognized Ute language expert—who traveled to Towaoc to provide in-person instruction. The program is built to meet learners where they are: in their communities, surrounded by culture, tradition and story.

“Thank you to the families—you gave up time with your loved ones to support this. And thank you to our students, who made this program beautiful by learning from and with one another,” said Jenni Trujillo, dean of FLC’s School of Education, who is stepping down this summer but remains actively involved in SILDI.

Graduates shared powerful reflections on their journeys—each deeply personal, yet connected by themes of healing, remembrance and identity.

“We really had some ups and downs,” said student Silverton House-Whitehorse. “When things got tough, someone would say something silly. We’d start laughing, and that disruption reminded us who we are. We needed that. We created a family in this group.”

“For me, to learn in immersion felt like I was betraying what I was taught in the past,” House-Whitehorse added. “But I realized we need to walk into that change. It takes support—and we had that here.”

For instructor and graduate Juanita PlentyHoles, the connection between language and memory was central.

“When I hear certain words it triggers memories –my uncles sitting around talking, singing and I would be playing cards with my grandpa.  Smell of willows triggers the pic in my mind of my mother making baskets.  These are the stories and sounds we are trying to protect and preserve.

That mission is deeply personal for Ute Mountain Ute Chairman Manuel Heart, who addressed the graduates.

“Our elders always said, ‘Come back home. Help us grow as a tribe,’” Heart said. “Language is part of that. Education is one of our top priorities. This program helps our people become teachers—not just on paper, but in spirit.”

Oberly reflected on her experience as an instructor with deep gratitude.

“I’m very, very blessed to have worked with our sister tribe,” she said, recalling that the first night of class was chaotic and overwhelming. “My heart is so happy to know each and every one of you. You brought your whole selves to this.”

The SILDI certificate not only honors personal growth—it also opens professional doors. Graduates are eligible for instructor licenses that enable them to teach in schools. The program merges culturally rooted content with pedagogy, creating a sustainable pipeline of Ute language teachers.

麻豆免费高清无砖码区Provost Mario Martinez emphasized SILDI’s significance within the FLC’s broader commitment to reconciliation and Indigenous education.

“麻豆免费高清无砖码区is committed to recognizing and reconciling its history in authentic ways,” Martinez said, noting the institution’s origins as an off-reservation federal Indian boarding school. “SILDI is part of that journey. Language reclamation is one of four pillars of our reconciliation framework, and this program brings that to life through community partnership.”

SILDI continues to grow, with more cohorts and continued collaboration with tribal elders and youth.

“Some of our students were not speakers when they started. I saw their confidence grow as we went along and they got comfortable speaking the words.  That’s how we keep our language alive-by learning together.”

For Trujillo, this model of community-based learning is essential.

“One of the reasons SILDI works is because we bring education to the people,” she said. “Not the other way around. Language lives in communities—in stories, in songs, in shared meals. That’s where the future is.”