Virginia Beavert, a member of the Yakama Nation of Washington, has received an honorary doctorate from the University of Washington.

Beavert, 87, has spent her life preserving the Yakama language. She developed a dictionary in Yakama and continues to teach the language.

"It starts way back in my life, when I was still young yet. I learned to read and write the language," Beavert told The Yakima Herald-Republic.

Beavert, who has a master's degree from the University of Arizona, is currently working on a thesaurus for the Yakama language. She also speaks Nez Perce, Umatilla and Klickitat.

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Keeper of Yakama language awarded honorary degree (The Yakima Herald-Republic 9/8)