When Christina Dawa Kutsmana Thomas was growing up, she didn’t know anyone on her reservation who had gone to college. Now the doctoral candidate is helping pave the way for future generations of Indigenous children starting with her son, Jace Naki’e. Not only is she setting an example by pursuing higher education but also by being more connected to their cultural roots.
Christina Thomas and her son Jace, visit Kake, Alaska every summer. This past summer, Jace attended Tlingit Culture Camp.
“I grew up on the reservation all my life. I knew I was Native, I knew my tribes, but I really didn’t know much about our history,” Thomas said. “My family didn’t really speak our language even though it was my grandma’s first language. Because of the times that she grew up in, she didn’t pass that on.”
Thomas, a graduate student in the Department of Native American Studies at UC Davis, has spent years learning, teaching and preserving her language, Numu Yadooana (Northern Paiute). Her work is primarily based in northern Nevada and focuses on Indigenous sound studies, historical musicology and language resurgence of Numu Yadooana.
“A lot of what I've learned has been as an adult, that’s why I'm hoping with my son to change that,” Thomas said.
As a single mom, Thomas has worked throughout her undergraduate studies to be a good role model for both her son and community. She even got Northern Paiute established as the first Indigenous language at University of Nevada, Reno – the first Indigenous language to be offered in higher education anywhere in Nevada.
Please continue reading this story at: Christina Thomas Works to Preserve Her Native Culture and Language | lettersandsciencemag (ucdavis.edu)