Albuquerque Public Schools
Breaking Barriers
Eldorado and La Cueva seniors earn coveted Navajo Bilingual Seal
A senior from Eldorado and another from La Cueva made history last week. They became the first Albuquerque Public Schools students to earn a state Bilingualism-literacy Seal in Diné after passing a grueling oral exam created and administered by the Navajo Nation.
“In all the time that Navajo Nation has been doing the state bilingual seal testing, no one from APS has ever passed until (now),” said Shannon Johnson, the APS bilingual coordinator for Navajo Language & Culture and the teacher of the two students who passed the test.
Kaylee Bahe, from Eldorado High School, and Hallie Cornfield, who attends La Cueva, are proud of what they accomplished but stress that their journey is just beginning.
“Learning Navajo is a lifelong thing, so I’m always learning new stuff,” Cornfield said.
Cultural identity
For both students, becoming proficient in the Navajo language transcends academics or the advantage it will give them in the college application process and the job market. It’s about their cultural identity.
“I originally come from Pinon, Arizona, on the Navajo Nation,” Bahe said. “I grew pretty familiar with Navajo in my early years, but when I was 8, that’s when I moved to the city and I didn’t have as much access to speaking to Native speakers until high school.”
In high school, she seized the opportunity to reconnect with her native language, taking a series of Navajo language classes through the APS Career Enrichment Center. APS high schools have different language classes, but all high school students in the district have the opportunity to learn Navajo and Zuni instruction at the Indigenous Lifeways Center located near Bel-Air Elementary School.
“In my classes, we learn how to translate specific lyrics from Navajo songs,” Bahe said. “So I think it’s really special to me that through translating those words, I kind of understand a deeper meaning and level to the Diné bizaad, the Navajo language. It gives me a really strong foundation on the ethics and teachings that my grandparents have lent down to us as well.”
Cornfield said her mother has been teaching her Navajo since she was little, but she also relies on websites and apps.
“It’s really hard because I didn’t grow up on the Navajo reservation, so I’m not very connected to the culture, like knowing how to herd sheep or ride a horse, but I try to immerse myself in those by watching videos, just seeing how the process goes, even though I don’t know how to do it,” she added.
Exploring Navajo culture
Johnson has 18 students in her Navajo classes, and she works hard to expose them to different aspects of the culture while teaching them the language.
Seeing Bahe and Cornfield succeed gives her hope that schools can effectively provide opportunities for Native students who are far from their homelands to learn about their language and culture and to help them solidify their cultural identity.
“We've played games. We've done cultural stories. We've done questions and answers, like back-and-forth conversational Navajo,” Johnson said. “We've sung songs, we've even what we would say, we would feed Mother Earth and Father Sky white corn meal in the morning when they arrive. So, I'm giving them a life skill that they can take with them to college and beyond. So we try to do a lot within the time that we have with them.”
The APS Indian Education Department also provides immersion programs for Native kindergarten through 12th-grade students, teaching them to ride horses, make blue corn meal and their own dough for tortillas and frybread, rug weaving and so much more.
“We’ve received a lot of good feedback,” Johnson said.
‘Don’t be ashamed’
So, what’s next for Bahe and Cornfield?
Bahe wants to become an Indigenous rights attorney. Cornfield plans to become a court reporter.
And they want to continue honing their Native language.
“I still struggle with finding words to say in our Native language, but taking this test, even though it’s difficult, it definitely pushes you to reach that proficiency where you feel comfortable to speak with people,” Bahe said.
Cornfield has advice for others hoping to earn the New Mexico State Bilingualism-Biliteracy Seal.
“Learn your conjugations and put in the effort,” she said. “Always try to speak to your grandmother, mother, parents in Navajo, and don’t be ashamed.”
- The APS Indian Education Seal: To qualify, Native students must write a two-to three-page paper on their tribe or pueblo, create a PowerPoint presentation and a tribal demonstration and present to a panel of judges. They must also submit two letters of recommendation.
- The Seal for Distinguished Learning: Students who receive this seal complete a minimum of 30 hours of volunteer work starting from the end of their junior year through January of their senior year. They must write a 2-3 page summary of their volunteer work, create a PowerPoint presentation and present to a panel of judges. They must also submit two letters of recommendation, one from a volunteer organization and one from a general education teacher.
- APS Bilingual Seal for Native Language: Recipients must successfully complete two years of heritage language courses–Navajo, Zuni or another Native American language. They must demonstrate their knowledge and skills in heritage language to an audience of judges from the community. Two letters of recommendation are required, one from an IED language teacher and one from a general education teacher.
- New Mexico State Bilingualism-Biliteracy Seal: This award is given to students who, by high school graduation, demonstrate proficiency in a language other than English. The SSBB emblem is placed on the graduating senior’s diploma of excellence, and the accomplishment is noted on the transcript. It’s attractive to future employers and college admissions offices. Students earn the SSBB by getting a certificate by an individual tribe or units of credit, assessment and alternative portfolio.