Native youth call for language revitalization, education reform and leadership at NCAI State of Indian Nations

Madison Brown and Angelina Serna, co‑presidents of the NCAI Youth Commission, opened the State of Indian Nations program with a call for indigenous perspectives and language revitalization to be central in education, governance and climate policy.

Serna said indigenous knowledge and languages are “precisely what the world needs today” and urged that ‘‘indigenous education should not be an afterthought.’’ She tied language to wellbeing, citing research and personal experience: “For every language that is lost, a piece of who we are vanishes with it,” and later stating that students who lack that connection are, in her account, “6 times more likely to harm themselves.”

Both youth leaders called for sustained federal investment in Title VI and Indian Education Grant programs and for strengthening youth leadership programs so young people understand policy and legislative processes. They described the White House Tribal Youth Forum as an example of youth engagement with federal officials and urged leaders to prioritize relationships with young people.

Their remarks framed language and youth empowerment as essential to cultural survival and to addressing broader challenges such as climate change and social inequality. The youth commission asked tribal and federal leaders to include indigenous perspectives in policy design and to invest in programs that keep language and culture alive.

What happens next: The youth leaders encouraged tribal officials to engage in youth mentoring, leadership pipelines, and to ensure federal education funding remains secure; no formal actions were taken during their presentation.