At the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA), Chris is finding his voice in more ways than one.

A creative writing student, Chris has turned to poetry as a way to strengthen his connection to the Navajo language—and to explore a language he continues to discover more deeply through his studies.

“Navajo language is really dictated by sound,” he explained. “Poetry really is one of those tools that I believe we can use to access and relearn the language.”

For Chris, traditional approaches to language learning do not always work well for Indigenous languages. Poetry offers another path: one that allows him to listen closely to the language, engage with its complexity, and incorporate it into his own creative work.

His journey began with encouragement from his father, who helped Chris recognize that there was still much more to learn about his language and culture.

“What I knew up until I went to IAIA, I thought was everything that I needed to know of my language,” Chris said. “But the more and more that I dive deep into it, the ceremonial practices, and the medicinal practices, there’s so much more to learn.”

That continued learning has shaped both his education and his writing.

“The language is extremely complex, and poetry has really been helping me access that,” he said. “It’s given me time to really hone my craft as a writer and as a poet. Because of them, I was able to achieve a lot of academic successes and poetry success within my community.”

Support from the American Indian Education Fund® (AIEF), a program of Partnership With Native Americans® (PWNA), has helped Chris pursue his education while continuing to develop his work as a writer. AIEF provides scholarships to Native students pursuing higher education, helping ease some of the financial challenges that can make it difficult for students to remain focused on their studies.

For Chris, that support has been part of a larger academic journey. He is working on his thesis and preparing to publish his first poetry collection, bringing together his interests in creative writing and Navajo language.

His goal extends beyond his own education. Chris hopes to eventually return to the classroom and share poetry and language with future generations of students.

“I hope to go back into the academics and start teaching poetry at local community colleges and maybe even tribal colleges as well,” he said.

In that way, Chris’s education is not simply about earning a degree. It is helping him develop the skills he hopes to pass on to others—creating another pathway for Navajo language and knowledge to continue forward.

For Chris, language is central to that work.

“Language is extremely important. It’s the only way to access Indigenous knowledges, especially within our Navajo cultural structures,” says Chris. “Your aid really has done a lot for me to understand that better and putting that into my poetry and my studies has been integral. So, thank you.”

Through AIEF, donors help Native students pursue their educational goals while creating opportunities for them to bring what they learn back to their families and communities. For students like Chris, that can mean gaining an education while also finding new ways to preserve, explore, and share the knowledge carried through their languages.

Chris is using poetry to strengthen his own connection to Navajo language while preparing to help others find their voices, too. Donate to AIEF to support students like Chris.