DENVER — High school students at Denver North and Denver East have the opportunity to learn Lakota, an Indigenous language described as critically endangered with very few first-language speakers left in the United States. However, Denver Public Schools (DPS) recognized the need to offer this class back in 2003 and since have continued to support their student population.
"We believe in preserving culture and using culture as a celebration and springboard for student success, which is why we wanted to offer this class," said Nicole Cooper, one of the assistant principals at Denver North High School. "Our community was asking for it, so we were responsive to our community."
DPS provided data to Denver7 about the student population who identified as American Indian or Alaskan Native. During the 2023-24 school year, the data showed, 457 students identified within those groups.
"Here at North we are a Native heritage focused school so what that means is that we are a hub for our Native families and community to come in and receive supports specific to their community," Cooper said.
Over the past 14 years, Eileen Masquat has taught Lakota at schools throughout the Denver area. Born in 1950, Masquat was raised on the Rosebud Indian Reservation where she attended boarding school.
"There were only two schools there, one for the whites and one for the Indians, and the one for the Indians was all boarding, it was a Catholic boarding school," said Masquat. "So, that's where I went, that's where my mom went, so that's where I ended up going."
Masuqat received her undergrad and master's from Regis University and went on to work at U.S. West for 25 years and then Time Warner Telecom for 8 years before returning back to the reservation. After 8 years of living on the reservation, Masquat decided to move back to Denver, saying, "Everything is so secluded and so... it’s a long ways to get whatever you need."
While Masquat teaches Lakota, she knows it not only preserves the past but also helps some of her students connect with their relatives.
"A lot of them, their grandparents speak Lakota, but their kids don't, because when we were in boarding school, they wouldn't allow us to speak Lakota, they took our language away," explained Masquat. "They tried to, but we still talked it amongst ourselves, when they weren't around, but it was a whole different way of life."
The class is comprised of students of different grade levels and abilities. Together they meet at the same class period and work on their specific assignments. This school year, Masquat teaches 32 students at Denver North and 16 students at Denver East, but she described just how many pursue all four years.
"This year, I started out with like 18 students first level one, and by the time, they are seniors are level four, I only have like maybe 1 or 2 students left," Masquat said.
Axel Wolf is a member of the Ponca and Ojibwe Tribes and is a senior in the Denver North class. He decided to take Lakota as a way to build upon his communication and relationship with his grandfather.
"My grandpa speaks Lakota almost fluently and he speaks very well," said Wolf. "I don't know how well exactly his extensive knowledge of it, but he prays in Lakota at family gatherings and all sorts of events, so I wanted to understand his prayers better."
During class periods, student practice learning new words and expanding their vocabulary. Wolf explained the most challenging elements of learning Lakota.
"Luckily, pronunciation is one of the things that I am best at, but I mean, some of these words can't even begin to start, they're just so long and they have so many sounds that we don't typically make."
Success stories are coming out of this course with Masquat sharing how some students have found inspiration from learning Lakota to pursue job opportunities while using the language.
"Makes me feel good that I know my language is going to survive, and I’ve got students that graduated that are in linguistics at Boulder right now, they want to use that language to do voting rights for the people that can't or don't understand about voting," Masquat said.
Besides offering the Lakota language class, this is the first year Denver North is offering a Native American student leadership class focused on helping students serve as a strong leader and as a good relative.
Gracie Redshirt Tyon is a member of the Oglala Lakota Nation and is the teacher leading the course. She said, "...Here at North High School and within the Denver Public School districts is that we're visible, we're being seen and it's really empowering for our students."
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