Honorary Degree: Everett and Roberta Serafin

Everett and Roberta Serafin are members of the Jicarilla Apache Nation, who have made significant contributions to preserving the Jicarilla Apache language and culture.

They are the leading scholars for developing an extremely significant body of work on language documentation for their native language and cultural preservation. This includes projects to develop collections of re-transcribed and retranslated texts, video and audio recordings, a new and more user-friendly writing system for the language, and a large collection of pedagogical materials. They have worked to create a collaborative team of native-speaking elders and have served as trainers and mentors for younger people.

The Serafins’ expertise in linguistic analysis, experience with teaching and curriculum development, and dedication to the preservation and revitalization and the language in their community serves as a model and source of inspiration for similar work across the nation.