Ute Mountain Ute elders who speak their native language and are passing it on were honored by the tribal council last month.

The ceremony was part of the tribe’s launch of “Growing Utes,” a new spoken word Ute dictionary available online and on a phone app. Visit dictionary.utelanguage.org

The project was funded with a Living Languages Grant from the Bureau of Indian Affairs as part of the Tiwahe Initiative promoting Indigenous culture.

Twenty elders helped to create the dictionary, and some also helped produce a short documentary on the Ute Mountain Utes called “We are Nuchu.”

At the ceremony Nov. 18, Ute Mountain Chairman Manuel Heart addressed the elders in Ute, and the Red Sky Singer’s drum group performed the Flag Song.

“We honor our elders, thank you for being a part of this. During the boarding school years, our language was taken away. Today we are bringing it back,” Heart said.

Out of 2,100 Ute Mountain Utes, it is estimated 110 speak the language fluently.

“Our culture and history are embedded in our language,” said Vice Chairman Archie House Jr. “Our ancestors had strength defending our land. When we keep our language we gain the power our ancestors had.”

The new Kwiyagat Community Academy in Towaoc will help preserve and expand the Ute language to the younger generation, Heart added.

“These kids are teaching their parents, they are catching on to it, and learning it,” he said. “It’s a good thing, sacred.”

There are subtle differences in the way Ute is spoken, which indicates where a person is from within Ute lands.

“We may say it differently, but we talk together,” Heart said.

The spoken word dictionary is foundation for continuing the language program, said Tiwahe Director Juanita Plentyholes. The second phase will be an online learning platform, which will includes lessons and testing.

“We are using technology to keep our language alive, so it will always be here with the tribe,” she said. “It is never too late to learn your language. When we think about our culture and language, we think about our ancestors, they talked Ute, everything was in Ute and the passed in on generation to generation. Now it is our turn to pass it on.”

Elders shook hands with the tribal council and were given gifts. They signed their name on a document honoring the occasion.

“They tried to take our language and culture, but we are taking it back,” said elder Laverna Summa after the event. “We don’t want to forget it. When we speak it together, it feels like home. It is easier to speak than English, more direct.”

The tribe also honored participants who helped to create a new documentary on the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe: “We are Nuchu” the name of the tribe in their Indigenous language.

It can be viewed on the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe website.

jmimiaga@the-journal.com