Lynda Grove D’Wolf. Photo from ISWNE

Lynda Grove D’Wolf, an elder from the Southern Ute Tribe of Colorado, is teaching the first Ute language class at a local public high school.

Fewer than 40 people still speak the language on a regular basis. D’Wolf is hoping to change that by teaching Ute to students at the Ignacio High School on the reservation.

“I don’t want our language to die," D'Wolf said at a meeting of the International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors last year, The Southern Ute Drum reported. "We are such a small tribe, and we need to bring the language back to our people."

The Durango Herald: Lynda Grove D’Wolf on the Ute language

D’Wolf helped create an application for the Ute language that was launched last year. It no longer appears to be available on the Apple App Store.

Get the Story:
Preserving the past (The Durango Herald 4/6)