As you walk through the halls of Navajo Preparatory School, you will see students from across Diné Bikeyyah — the Navajo Nation — often wearing a tsiiyééł, a traditional Diné hair bun, Nike sneakers, and a state championship shirt.
Students joke with one another in Diné bizaad, the Navajo language, and chat with staff about their plans for the weekend, which might include a four-hour drive home to brand cattle, chop firewood, participate in a traditional Navajo — or Diné — ceremony, or participate in a local basketball tournament. It is just as common to hear students discuss which college they hope to attend, how they would like to become a leader at the tribal, national or international level, and what effect they intend to have in the world.
The Navajo community encompasses a Tribal Nation spanning 36,000 square miles across Arizona, New Mexico and Utah. Schools, including Navajo Prep, serve as beacons of light despite one of the darkest chapters of U.S. history: Native American education.
This history is marked by forced assimilation, cultural exclusion and borderline extinction of a lifeline of any culture — its language. The consequences of which are still felt today. Data from 2022 by the National Center for Education Statistics reports 74 percent of Indigenous students in the U.S. graduate from high school compared to 87 percent nationally.
(CREDIT: Navajo Preparatory School)
The Navajo Nation’s newspaper, the Navajo Times, projects that by 2050, only 1 percent of Navajo language speakers will remain. The Endangered Languages Project reports that 40 percent of the world’s 7,000 languages are disappearing. Decades of research have called for Indigenous language learning in schools to preserve and revitalize Native cultures.
The reality in the United States is that Native American students today face a heart-wrenching choice faced by Native students centuries ago: Assimilate in school or maintain their culture.
For educators, this is a call to action. By carving paths forward for Indigenous language learning in schools, we can defend and sustain Native American cultures and support student achievement.
Navajo Prep and the International Baccalaureate are doing just that.
The school’s success in introducing a Navajo language course within the IB’s curricular framework was not guaranteed.
Navajo Preparatory School was previously the location of a federal boarding school founded 100 years ago, historically known for its harsh treatment of students. In 1991, the school was re-imagined by the Navajo Nation Tribal Council through an act of self-determination to serve as a four-year college preparatory, residential and day school for talented and highly motivated youth. Navajo Prep enrolls students who want to further their formal education beyond high school and who revere and embrace the Native language, culture and value systems.
For 30 years, Navajo Prep worked to reclaim Native language and culture. When the school implemented a four-year Navajo language graduation requirement in 2021, students had to decide between pursuing their Navajo language and culture or the world-class IB high school Diploma Program.
That decision ends this year.
Navajo Prep and the IB will launch a Navajo language course that meets Diploma Program requirements for the 2025-2026 academic year. This is a monumental step for students and educators by charting the path forward for Native language revitalization in the United States.
This collaborative success had its challenges. An initial request for a Navajo language course was denied due to concerns about not meeting IB language requirements. This led to candid conversations with leadership on the imperative role of education in either assimilation or revitalization efforts. Once cultural coursework was finally integrated, assessments remained in English, which limited students’ immersion and depth of learning.
To meet IB requirements, Navajo Prep dedicated a team to demonstrate the breadth and range of written texts and to remain in close collaboration throughout the review process.
A decade later, the IB approved the first Native language course of its kind — a milestone for Indigenous education globally.
Navajo Prep’s journey with the IB to revitalize Native language imparts several important lessons for educators.
First, relationships matter. Navajo Prep’s success was accelerated because of its networks. This includes 20 years of advocacy for Indigenous culture in education to land the right people in the right rooms at the right time, eventually to bring the Diné language course to fruition.
Second, capacity and commitment matter. Schools, districts and sovereign tribal nations need capacity and experts within the school, community and nation to support language revitalization as an existential concern for Native American communities. Leadership from the superintendent, head of school, board and district administration is essential to progress.
Third, funding matters. Navajo Prep sought and received grants through the Department of Education. These funds allowed for dedicated team capacity, professional development, and the creation of a standard-level course — all essential components of this work.
Last, and most important, educators can no longer ignore decades of research supporting the benefits of and proposed methodology for Native American and Indigenous language revitalization. Schools must embrace language learning and cultural inclusion for Native American communities. We are not just supporting students but a global movement to sustain, reclaim and revitalize Indigenous cultures.
The collective work of Navajo Prep and the IB demonstrates potential challenges and a way forward for schools and districts to embrace culturally inclusive education and advocate for self-determination within Indigenous education.
We must write a new chapter for Native American and Indigenous communities by revitalizing Native language learning in the United States. Together, we can.
