Native languages of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs are in danger of extinction.

In an effort to preserve them, Valerie Switzler, general manager of the tribes, organized Healing Through Our Native Languages, an Indigenous language conference taking place Sunday through Wednesday on the Oregon State University-Cascades student campus in Bend.

All are welcome to attend the conference, which will include students, current and future language teachers and tribal representatives from across Oregon and California.

The three native languages of Warm Springs — Kiksht of the Wasco people, Numu of the Northern Paiute and Ichishkin of the Warm Springs tribes — are integral to the identity of the tribes, carrying on ancestral stories, songs and traditions.

“It is the foundation of our sovereignty,” Switzler said.

The tribes haven’t held an Indigenous language conference since the early 2000s, Switzler said. She hopes the conference promotes networking among Indigenous and non-Indigenous language teachers. She also hopes to help Indigenous youth connect with their heritage, as she’s noticed it reaps benefits in all aspects of their lives.

Switzler attributes a 14% increase in graduation rates for Native American high school students in Oregon to Indigenous language classes.

Leona Ike is the student tribal liaison at OSU-Cascades. In an email to GO, she wrote that her ancestors signed the Treaty of 1855 for the Middle Oregon Tribes and Yakama Nation in Washington State.

“Whenever we pray or communicate in our language, our Creator can hear us directly,” Ike said.

Ike watched as her parents fought to hold on to their native languages. Her mother, Daisy Ike, lost fluency in four native dialects after facing abuse in boarding school.

Ike’s father, Chief Frederick Ike Sr., managed to hold onto 29 native dialects until his passing by belonging to a secret society in boarding school. Members of the society would gather to speak their native languages in secret after the matrons and wardens went to sleep.

Switzler wasn’t taught her native language as a child and is heartened that Indigenous youth have the opportunity to develop a connection to the tribes’ native languages.

“I love that they have more than we had growing up,” she said.

OSU-Cascades is honored and proud to host the Healing Through Our Native Languages conference, said Elizabeth Marino, associate professor of anthropology. The university has invited teachers in training — those majoring in undergraduate teaching and those studying for a master’s degree in teaching — to attend the conference.

Marino said it’s important all teachers have a better understanding of tribal history and how Indigenous languages or other ways of knowing might be taught in a classroom setting. “I think about how much wisdom and knowledge about the rivers and the mountains and the landscape exists in those languages,” Marino said.

A registration fee of $150 is required for adults to attend the conference to cover meals, including a salmon bake. Attendance for youth is free and scholarships are available for tribal members.

What: Healing Through Our Languages

When: Sunday-Wednesday

Where: Oregon State University-Cascades, 1500 SW Chandler Ave., Bend

Cost: $150 per adult, youth free, scholarships available for tribal members

Contact: Healing Through Our Native Languages on Facebook or Gina Ricketts at regina.ricketts@wstribes.org