Chinle senior earns top Navajo bilingual proficiency award

On Jan. 12, 2026, Chinle High School celebrated senior Naracaho Dahozy for earning the "Superior" award, the highest level of recognition on the Navajo Nation Seal of Bilingual Proficiency. Chinle officials noted Dahozy is a student in Ms. Farrah Begay's Navajo language class and that the honor follows successful completion of the 2025 assessment administered by the Department of Diné Education Office of Standards, Curriculum & Assessment Development.

The Department of Diné Education honored students who demonstrated proficiency and passed the 2025 Navajo Nation Seal of Bilingual Proficiency Assessment. A recognition banquet tied to earlier Seal program activities was held at the Twin Arrows Hotel and Casino in Flagstaff on April 4, 2024, and Chinle Unified School District highlighted the achievement on its district page, encouraging community congratulations for the student and instructors involved.

For Apache County residents, the recognition is more than a classroom accolade. Proficiency in Diné Bizaad supports cultural continuity, strengthens identity among young people, and improves the effectiveness of community outreach. In health and social services, speakers fluent in Diné Bizaad can bridge communication gaps, increase trust with providers, and help ensure public health messages reach families in their strongest language. That has implications for vaccine outreach, mental health services, chronic disease education, and emergency alerts that depend on clear, culturally grounded communication.

The award also underscores ongoing equity issues in local education. Schools that sustain robust language programs need institutional support: qualified teachers, curriculum resources, assessment tools, and funding stability. Ms. Farrah Begay's work in the classroom produced measurable student success; scaling that success across Apache County will require policy commitments from districts and partnerships with tribal education offices and health agencies to align language, education, and wellness goals.

Community recognition can be tangible. Local clinics and public health programs can expand hiring and training for bilingual staff, and school leaders can prioritize Diné Bizaad instruction as part of student well-being strategies. Philanthropic and government funding that targets language preservation can also yield downstream health benefits by reinforcing social cohesion and making services more accessible.

The takeaway? Celebrate Naracaho Dahozy’s achievement and back the systems that make it possible. Our two cents? Congratulate the student and teacher, ask your school board about sustained support for Diné Bizaad classes, and encourage local health providers to strengthen bilingual services so language becomes an asset for community health, not a barrier.