News

A University of New Mexico alumnus made it his goal to make the Navajo language easier to learn. Now, he’s getting to see in real time how his efforts are impacting the community. 

The first ever Child Language Acquisition Symposium for Indigenous Communities (CLASIC) takes place on May 17 and 18 at UNM. CLASIC will be held at the Hibben Center by UNM’s Indigenous Child Language Research Center (ICLRC), as part of the Department...

A child’s first word is a milestone built upon months or years of constant interactions with friends, family, and community. Even a consistent “hello” at the grocery store from beaming cashiers is the kind of interaction that fosters language development...

Kristina M. Jacobsen, associate professor of Ethnomusicology and Anthropology (Ethnology) at The University of New Mexico, recently traveled to South Africa on a trip that burnished her credentials as a researcher and artist. While there, Jacobsen...

Protecting an endangered language is just as consequential as safeguarding animals on the verge of extinction. The Navajo language faces threats to its vitality just as imperiled animals do. Like protecting the planet, preserving a language, and the...

Dr. Paul Platero, Edge of the Water Clan, died Nov. 16 in an automobile accident. Platero served as director of the Navajo Language Program at The University of New Mexico from 2007 – 2014. Platero grew up in Canoncito, now Tohajiilee, about 30 miles...

The University of New Mexico is part of a $1 million, multi-university study designed to examine the effect Indigenous-language immersion schools have on Native American student success, both in the classroom and beyond.