Join us for the AOKC’s inaugural Language In All Directions symposium, in partnership with BLOOM! Hosted in the FLC Skyhawk Station, the symposium will consist of panels by language speakers and learners, a reading from the AOKC’s SEEDS poetry anthology, film screenings, shared meals, and - of course - lots of language! There is no cost to register and meals are included with attendance.

Click here to register.

Preview our itinerary:

April 17, 2026

5:30 PM Welcome Dinner

6:00 PM Keynote Speaker: Trisha Moquino, Co-Founder, Keres Children’s Learning Center Keres Speaking Montessori Guide, Co-Director, Indigenous Montessori Institute

7:30 PM Next Generation Native Film Showcase: The Lensic Performance Arts Center and the Future Voices of New Mexico Program

April 18, 2026

8:30 AM Check-in and Hot Breakfast

9:00-10:00 AM Morning Welcome and Grounding: Dr. Stacey Oberly, Language Program Manager, Cultural Preservation Department, Southern Ute Indian Tribe

10:15-11:30 AM SESSION ONE: Language in Our Communities
Sharing language in homes, gatherings, leadership, and everyday relationships.

• Elfreida Begay, Navajo Language Teacher 9R Schools

• Noah Shadlow, Instructor, Osage Nation Language Department

• RayNique Francisco, All Our Kin Mellon Fellow

11:45 AM-1:00 PM SESSION TWO: Language in Learning Spaces
How language lives in schools, programs, and learning journeys—formally and informally.

• BLOOM Fellows: Key Anderson, Olyvia Barney

• MELLON Fellows:, Summer Raine Tsosie, Britt Postoak

• Terri Lynn Scott

• Landon Succo

1:00-2:00 PM Lunch

2:00-3:15 PM SESSION THREE: Language on the Land
Learning and speaking language through place, movement, and connection to land.

• Warrior Brown, BLOOM Program Director

• John Hosteen

• Roman McCabe, McCabe Experiential Learning

3:30-4:45 PM SESSION FOUR: Language for healing, strength, care, and restoration
Round Table community conversation, facilitated by Laurel Grimes, PhD Student, University of Oklahoma

5:30 PM SEEDS Release Party
Anthology reading and open mic for Indigenous poetry