Ashlyn Lovato, class of 2023, from Santa Clara Pueblo, NM, is a Linguistic Anthropology concentrator with a focus in Indigenous languages. Ashlyn enjoys learning about preservation methods and ideologies surrounding traditional knowledge systems, language, and law. She has created independent studies around Tewa, her Native language, and has worked with the A'ingae Language Documentation Research Project. She is an active member of Natives at Brown, the Native American and Indigenous Studies Initiative, and the Brown Center for Students of Color. Ashlyn is also a Bonner Fellow with the Swearer Center. In the future, Ashlyn aspires to work with Indigenous Communities around the world on cultural and linguistic preservation. Her Royce research is the beginning to these initiatives.

Project: 

Cultural knowledge and language sharing are crucial for the existence of Santa Clara Pueblo. Due to a myriad of reasons, there has been decrease in this type of sharing between generations in the community over the years. In addition, the restrictions put in place to protect tribal members against Covid-19, has limited gatherings for cultural events. Even though the language is often spoken in households, oral traditions and customs are at a halt, because many times the traditions are passed down through cultural gatherings. For tribes that do not utilize written forms of language documentation, the lack of sharing oral traditions can result in the death of knowledge and overall the death of community. By utilizing ethnographic methods of research, Ashlyn will study oral traditions, language loss between generations, and cultural preservation that follows the ideologies of her community.

Advisor: Paja Faudree, Emily Tafoya