A Year in Review…

January 27th, 2026

Reflecting on this past year at Skaˀnikú·lat, two words instantly come to mind: gratitude and celebration. As 2025 comes to close and we prepare for a new cycle of growth and harvest of our efforts, I wanted to share a few words to acknowledge this past year at Skaˀnikú·lat. 

Gratitude

Skaˀnikú·lat is honored to provide language-medium (immersion) education to children in our community, with the intention of boosting proficiency and creating speakers. This goal is merely a tangible outcome of our efforts, but the intangible and spiritual impacts are immeasurable. Our work is guided by natural law and our heart lies within preserving the worldview of Oneida ways. Oneida understandings of philosophy, values, history, sovereignty, self-determination, ceremony, songs, land, and medicines all lie within a connecting web that is woven together with a delicate silk that is the Oneida language. It is without a doubt that our language is what connects each aspect of our culture to one another. Through our language-medium efforts in our school, Teshakonatnʌtshotalhu, we have bridged our inherent sovereignty with a holistic approach to educate our students in their ancestral language. This work is heart work, coming from a place of love for our land, our ancestors, and our original words. This deep connection transfers to our intentions and motivation to teach immersion education from a place of care and safety. I am grateful to work alongside truly dedicated team members, Board of directors, students, and community members who support this work and every step we take along the way. Words cannot describe how wonderful it has been to witness our growth this past year and the building of safe, loving, and healthy spaces where our language lives. I am beyond grateful for the support, encouragement, and love share with Skaˀnikú·lat this past year and look forward to generations of growth, abundance, and wellness! 

Celebrate

First and foremost, 2025 was our first operational year! This is indeed something to celebrate! To build an organization like this from the ground up, fundraise, build capacity, garner support, and expand in an intentional way is no easy feat. It is guided by our ancestors and mother-tongue speakers who are no longer here with us Earthside, but are undoubtedly with us every step of the way. Skaˀnikú·lat is a special place where language, care, safety, honesty, accountability, abundance, love, humility, humor, fun, joy, and creativity all coexist. I made it my mission to ensure that wellness is the core of our language work, because I know how impactful colonization has been and continues to be for our work and our community. In 2025, we planted the seeds of love and hope, and have been tending to this garden ever since. We know our efforts will take generations, but our dedication and commitment is everlasting, especially when we stand on a genuine desire to ensure this language lives on for the next seven generations. Second, the seeds we planted included seeds of immersion education as the core of our work. I am proud to share that Skaˀnikú·lat has successfully launched and operated our Oneida language medium school, called Teshakonatnʌtshotalhu. To start a school is a significant challenge, and to start an Oneida language immersion school is something comparable to a distant dream. However, with a group of lovely Oneida women, community supporters, and students anything is possible. There is a special energy and power found in a group when people come together. The name of Skaˀnikú·lat, or 'one mind', represents just that...an intention of coming together as a dedicated group of language supporters, teachers, allies, and learners to get this off the ground and moving. Looking back on this past year, I wanted to share in this celebration with the community and acknowledge this incredible milestone of the birth of an organization and the launch of our language-medium school! 

As we close out this cycle of 2025, we renew our commitment to offering and centering the Oneida language as the sole medium of instruction within our organizational programming. Skaˀnikú·lat's origin began as a commitment to Oneida language-medium (immersion) education. An effort that demonstrates not only our unique contribution to the Oneida community and Oneida language, but one that will carry our language forward for generations to come. Our language is a medicine, and each year we take one step closer to ensuring our language lives on. I am absolutely honored to lead, teach, and support Oneida language immersion in Skaˀnikú·lat and want to thank our community for the care, love, and support you have shown us in 2025!