New project links Native youth and elders to strengthen Indigenous languages

A new initiative from Protect the Sacred aims to connect Native youth with elders to preserve Indigenous languages and cultural traditions, according to reporting by Axios Phoenix. Connecting the Rainbow will fund fellowships for young people to document elders’ stories through filmmaking, podcasting and other media, according to Diné activist Allie Redhorse Young. Young said geographic separation has disrupted oral tradition and contributed to youth isolation. A 2023 U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs report found that of 167 Native languages spoken in the U.S., only 20 are expected to survive past 2050.

Protect the Sacred launched in 2020 as an emergency response to the COVID pandemic. The group has since expanded its advocacy work. One Connecting the Rainbow fellow, Chazlyn Curley, plans to produce a podcast with her grandmother on the Navajo Nation. Curley said her grandmother taught her, “T'áá hwó' ají t'éego,” which translates to “It’s all up to your effort and hard work and determination.”