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Revitalizing the Navajo language

Navajo Class at UArizona
Posted at 10:15 PM, Nov 22, 2021
and last updated 2021-11-23 00:15:12-05

TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Throughout the semester, students in the intermediate Navajo class have worked to write and perform a play.

The play, named Back to the Rez, focuses on cultural knowledge and serves as a way for students to reconnect with the language.

"I do know my language," Joshua Nelson, a sophomore in the class said. "But I wanted to increase my knowledge about it."

Nelson said he can now talk to his parents in Navajo.

"The whole goal here is for students to expand their language knowledge and cultural knowledge," Aresta Tsosie-Paddock, the teacher of the class, said. "This is a great way for them to exercise that and apply what they already have with their language base. It's been a really great process for them."

The class is aimed to go beyond the classroom and the stage. They want to revitalize the Navajo language.

"This is a really important process as language is part of our identity," Tsosie-Paddock said.

For more information on the class and the play, click here.

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