Vision

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West Regional NALRC Vision

The Western region of what is now the United States (California, Arizona, Utah, and Nevada) is home to about 160 Federally Recognized, and many Unrecognized Tribes, each with its own linguistic and cultural heritage.

Despite assimilative policies that have banned Indigenous languages, created boarding schools, and continue to promote English-only education, and challenges that include few first language speakers, a scarcity of teaching resources, and the dominance of English at work and school, Indigenous peoples are still speaking and singing their languages in ceremonial, community, school and home contexts.

The Vision of the West Region Native American Language Resource Center (West NALRC) is to support western Tribes in maintaining and revitalizing their languages by providing guidance and resources to empower educators. We hope to realize this vision by:

  • Advocating for the inclusion of Native American languages in local, state and regional educational systems;
  • Providing training and technical assistance to Native American language-medium instructors, including evidence-based pedagogical strategies, curriculum development, and assessment; and
  • Providing consultation and support for Tribal language initiatives throughout the region.

 

In October 2024, representatives from the West Regional NALRC joined colleagues from the Northwest Regional NALRC, the Midwest Regional NALRC and the National NALRC to give a joint presentation at the annual Indigenous Language Institute (ILI) Symposium at the Pueblo of Sandia in New Mexico. Watch their presentation, entitled "Bridging the Gap to Serve the Communities: How can NALRCs better bridge Higher Education to Community", here: