UKIAH, CA., 5/20/25 – Four Ukiah High School students have become stewards of a once-dormant Indigenous language native to California after completing an intensive four-year course of study centered on Northern Pomo language and culture.
According to the Ukiah Unified School District, four Pomo students completed the school’s Northern Pomo Language and Culture program last week.
Very few people speak the language today, making this a milestone in language preservation.
American anthropologist Alfred Kroeber estimated that between 1,000 and 1,500 people spoke Northern Pomo prior to European colonization of Mendocino and Lake counties. The Foundation for Endangered Languages, a nonprofit dedicated to the documentation, protection and promotion of endangered languages, reports that the last native-born speaker of Northern Pomo died in 2005.
To revitalize the critically endangered language, Ukiah High School began offering the Northern Pomo program in 2021.
Two students from the Coyote Valley Band of Pomo Indians, Nora Frease and Tyeson Ramos, and two from the Hopland Band of Pomo Indians, Sonny Elliott and Lily Elliott, studied both language and culture using learning tools created through oral and written history.
Teacher Buffie Campbell-Schmidt founded the class, which she taught with the support of community members from local tribes.
“It’s more than a language class,” she said. “We are discussing the history of the area, the culture of the original people of this land, revitalizing a dormant language, and healing our Native community.”
According to the California Department of Education, Mendocino County has the sixth-highest Native American student enrollment in the state among counties. At Ukiah High, 4.1% of the student population is Native.
The program helps to foster not only a sense of pride for the students, but also an increased feeling of belongingness, an important factor in student success from an academic, cultural and mental health perspective.
“The class has a different vibe because we all have similar lived experiences,” Frease said. “We feel a sense of belonging here that we don’t feel in other classes. In this class, we can be our Native selves.”
In addition to completing the program, Frease and Sonny Elliott earned an additional recognition: they are the first students in the state to earn the California Seal of Biliteracy in Northern Pomo, the district said.
The seal is an official recognition awarded by the state to high schoolers who demonstrate proficiency in two or more languages, including English, by graduation.
All four students plan to attend college, and while their intended studies do not center on Native American language and culture, all four intend to continue to preserve and share their cultural and linguistic heritage with their communities and families.
Ukiah High’s Native American Graduation Ceremony takes place at 6 p.m. Wednesday. The public is invited to attend and witness the students “k’edi wadi” (walk well) into their future.
Listen to the Northern Pomo language and find learning tools at https://northernpomolanguagetools.com.