The Cultural Development Division was developed to help administer Tigua Education and Traditional Activities that introduces the native language of Southern Tiwa, to the surrounding Pueblo community.

 

Language Preservation

 

The Language Preservation program works to ensure that Southern Tiwa is archived for future generations of the Pueblo by administering educational classes on the history and phonetics of the language. The program utilizes the Miromaa language software program as an archival and teaching tool. It is able to create materials as well as dictionaries in Southern Tiwa. The program collaborates with linguists as well as fluent speakers in Southern Tiwa to assist in this endeavor. The program also works closely with the Traditional Council of the Pueblo to assure that any and all materials that are created for teaching are not disseminating any sacred and traditional information. It works with agencies such as the Institute of Indigenous Languages (ILI) to create culturally relevant curriculum for teaching Southern Tiwa.