Farmington senior earns top Navajo language proficiency honor

Amber Bizardie, a senior at San Juan College High School, earned the Navajo Nation Seal of Bilingual Proficiency at the Superior Level, a recognition reserved for graduating high school seniors who can fluently read, write and speak Diné.

Farmington Municipal Schools said Bizardie received the honor on April 7. The district said she also plans to graduate in May with both a high school diploma and an associate degree in Business Administration from San Juan College, putting her among the students in Farmington who are finishing school with college credit and a formal language credential.

The seal is more than a line on a transcript. It is part of the Navajo Nation Seal of Bilingual Proficiency Assessment, offered each spring by the Navajo Nation Department of Diné Education’s Office of Standards, Curriculum and Assessment Development. The assessment has been used as a formal measure of fluency and a way to support language preservation and cultural continuity. A broader awards banquet for seal recipients is scheduled for Friday, April 17, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Fire Rock Navajo Casino in Gallup.

The recognition also comes as Navajo leaders continue to warn that language transmission remains fragile. One official has said Diné could stop being commonly practiced by around 2060 if younger speakers do not keep the language alive. At the same time, another Navajo leader has said nearly two-thirds of people living on the Navajo Nation can still speak the language fluently, showing both the strength of the language base and the urgency of passing it on.

Farmington’s numbers suggest that schools in the area are seeing more students take bilingual achievement seriously. In 2025, Farmington Municipal Schools said 32 students earned the New Mexico State Seal of Bilingualism and Biliteracy, including one Diné recipient. That was up from 23 students the year before, when one Navajo student earned the seal. The district’s growing totals show that bilingual recognition is not limited to a few standout cases; it is becoming part of the academic path for more local students.

Bizardie has said that speaking Navajo at home helped motivate her to keep building vocabulary, a reminder that the language’s future depends as much on family life as on school achievement. In a county where Native identity, education and career preparation often overlap, her honor reflects both personal discipline and a larger effort to keep Diné strong across generations.