2 high school students receive Navajo Nation Bilingual Seal of Proficiency
NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – Two high school students from New Mexico have earned a very special award for their comprehension of the Navajo language. The official award is the Navajo Nation Bilingual Seal of Proficiency.
New technology aims to tackle agricultural water issues on the Navajo Nation
Officials say that learning a new language begins with comprehension of the language itself. Isaac Merritt, a senior from Sihprock, was honored for his understanding of Diné. Kaydence Yazzie a senior at Kirtland Central High School sang the national anthem in her native language.
Officials said that Kaydence and Isaac illustrate the dedication and talent it takes to achieve bilingual proficiency. Two students from Albuquerque Public Schools also recently won the award.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
How a wildlife researcher is estimating Albuquerque's badger population
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) — A wildlife researcher is taking a look at how many American badgers are taking up shop in a 12-mile stretch of the Rio Grande Bosque. To make that happen, she's asking the people of Albuquerque to send any photos they have of badgers, specifically with their head stripes showing. Story continues below New Mexico Crime Files: Grocery store worker hands out semen-tainted yogurt Trending: Santa Fe man arrested after 'brandishing' gun at gas station New Mexico Strange: Holy dirt and healing water: A look at NM's miraculous locations News: National Guard deployment causes worry over New Mexico wildfire funds Ann Hunkins is a certified animal tracker and master's student at Prescott College. This badger research project was partly inspired by just how many badger digs Hunkins has been seeing in the bosque. Those digs posed the question – is there one overly-ambitious badger, or are there more like a dozen? 'So I'm working with the City of Albuquerque Open Space with this, and the idea is that it's going to help to inform land management decisions to know how many badgers are there, how they're using the land,' said Hunkins. 'Because we've also got a whole bunch of volunteers out there who are surveying the badger digs and uploading them into a monitoring app.' The study is limited to a 12-mile stretch of the Bosque from Alameda to Ceaser Chavez on the east side. Hunkins says trying to measure the entire greater Albuquerque area could lead to spotty results. The study is particularly trying to measure the 'range' of the badgers found in the bosque, meaning how far the animals are traveling. 'There was a badger digging at The Jackalope in the middle of town and badgers up on the Tramway, badgers in different parts of the city,' said Hunkins. 'So that's part of the study too, to try to find out where, how far the badgers are penetrating in the city.' She says badger range in general can vary from 25 square kilometers to 200 square kilometers. To the untrained eye, badger digs may look like coyote tracks, Hunkins explains. The difference is that badger digs are a little smaller and they're very asymmetrical, almost 'pigeon-toed.' They will usually show five toes on each foot, opposed to the four toes on coyote tracks. You can identify a badger based on its head stripe in the same way you can identify a person based off their fingerprint, making it crucial that submitted photos show off the badger's stripes. 'That was one of the things that got me on board to do the study. I was like, 'oh, so we can do it with camera tracking then,'' said Hunkins. 'We don't have to actually trap the badgers. We just need pictures of them… When we get those pictures, and then if we can match them with pictures from other cameras at other times, it just gives us a whole picture of what badgers are doing in the Bosque and in the whole city.' Badgers play a role in controlling rodent and insect populations. Hunkins say her team has been seeing 'shallow foraging digs,' where they're digging up insect groves beneath Cottonwood trees. They believe the badgers are going after the cottonwood leaf beetle groves under those trees. Badgers also tend to go after squirrels and gophers. 'I had a man tell me that he had a badger move into his backyard, and like two days later, all the squirrels were gone because the badger had taken care of them,' said Hunkins. 'Now sometimes that can be a problem for people because they'll dig up the entire yard, but usually it's not a problem because they'll just come in, target the species and go. They don't stay very long in any one place. So it's not like they're going to take up residence in your yard for a long period of time.' In New Mexico, American badgers are not considered an endangered species or a species of concern, although it's a different story in some areas. In British Columbia, American badgers are considered endangered, and over in California, they're considered a species of special concern. Hunkins says the primary threat for them would be the general loss of habitat from human activity, buildings, or roads. The study will come to a close in August. Hunkins will be analyzing the results throughout autumn. Photos of badgers can be submitted to abqbadgerphotos@ Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Catalina (Katie) Viola Rivera Catalina Viola DeHerrera was
Jun. 7—Catalina (Katie) Viola Rivera Catalina Viola DeHerrera was born to Jacobo and Juanita DeHerrera in the Spring of 1932 during late lambing season in El Copar, just Southeast of Cuba, New Mexico in the Nacimiento Mountain foothills. She was one of eleven children born to Jacobo and Juanita, nine of which grew into adulthood. She loved being outdoors with her two brothers: older brother Felimon and younger brother Jacobito. Growing up a tomboy, she would rather be outdoors than in the kitchen with her older sisters Emma and Elodia. Her other siblings included her older brother Lalo and younger siblings Anna, Willie, and Elden. After high school she went to Santa Fe and worked for the State of New Mexico, living with her cousin Marcia Gurule. She later moved to Albuquerque and attended business school, eventually getting a job with the Employment Security Commission. She met her future husband, Roy Rivera, at St. Joseph's College while on a double date with her sister Elodia. Roy and Katie wed at San Jose Church in the summer of 1956. In 1957, they greeted their first and only child, Roy Jr. Katie continued working until 1972, when she decided to go back to school to become an educator like her husband, Roy. In 1975, she received her bachelor's degree in Bilingual Education from the University of New Mexico. For the next fifteen years, she worked for The Albuquerque Public Schools (APS), in various schools, with fourth grade being her specialty. The elementary schools she worked at were Emerson, Dolores Gonzales, Los Padillas and later Eubank and Hodgin Elementary. Everywhere Katie went, she would always encounter and remember a student that she had taught. She would also run into first cousins (she had 108 of them). Katie and her husband loved traveling, especially out of the Country. In 1988, Katie welcomed her daughter-in-law, Mary Frances into the family. Katie was not always a good cook, but after many years of practice feeding her family, she became one of the best. Katie was a competitive cook, always learning new recipes and trying to make the old ones better. Aunt Katie, as many nephews and nieces called her, loved her extended family, but she especially loved her two granddaughters Sharayah and Rachael, taking care of them while their mother worked. After retiring from APS, Katie spent summers at the farm in Sile, NM with her husband. After her husband died, (exactly nine months prior), Katie spent her time talking on the phone with her friends, watching her Telenovelas and praying her Rosary. She was a lifelong parishioner of Queen of Heaven Church. I am sure that Katie is now awaiting the time when the rest of her family will join her in Heaven.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
New Mexico Environment Department offers free well water testing in Taos on June 14
TAOS COUNTY, N.M. (KRQE) — The New Mexico Environment Department and the New Mexico Department of Health are hosting a free domestic well water testing event in Taos on Saturday, June 14 from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Taos Farmer's Market. The first 100 participants will receive the free test. Story continues below News: Surveillance video captures crash involving off-duty officer that severely injured man Events: What's happening around New Mexico June 6-12? Albuquerque Pride Parade New Mexico Strange: Holy dirt and healing water: A look at NM's miraculous locations The results will be mailed to their house within two to three weeks. Participants are asked to bring their own water sample to the event. They're also asked to bring basic information such as well depth, depth to water, well casing material, well latitude and longitude and distance from the well to the nearest septic tank or leachfield system. You can find guidelines on how to collect those samples below: 'Let the water run for two to three minutes before collecting the sample Fill a clean glass or plastic container without any odors with at least a quart or liter of your well water If the home has a whole house filtration system, collect the water at the well head prior to any filtration or softener systems, if possible Fill the container with water as close to the time of testing as possible' If someone is unable to attend but wants their well water tested, a family member or neighbor can bring the sample to the event. That sample must be clearly labeled with the owner's name, phone number, address and well information attached. 'Private well owners in Taos County can come to this water fair and find out more about the quality of their household drinking water,' Ground Water Quality Bureau Chief Justin Ball said. 'When we know what's in our well water, we can take action. Free testing helps our communities stay informed and healthy.' You can find upcoming events by the New Mexico Environment Department on their website. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
