American Indian Indigenous Teacher Education Conference

(Tlingit and Haida Nations)

Dr. Lance Twitchell carries the Tlingit names X̱’unei, Du Aaní Kawdinook, and Yoo Kaawajígi Yéil, and the Haida name Ḵ’eijáakw. He lives in Juneau with his wife Mariah and their three beautiful bilingual children, and is from the Tlingit, Haida, and Yup’ik Native nations. He speaks and studies the Tlingit language, advocates for Indigenous language revitalization, and is an Assistant Professor of Alaska Native Languages at the University of Alaska Southeast, as well as a multimedia Northwest Coast Artist and musician. In addition to his impressive scholarly contributions, including Lingit knowledge and language within the Academy, X̱’unei is also an active language healer and warrior, and a staunch advocate for the decolonization of law and policy. His advocacy was instrumental in ensuring the State of Alaska officially recognized Alaska Native languages, and declared a state of linguistic emergency to call attention to the suppression of our languages and reconciliation efforts that must be put in place. He earned his PhD in Hawaiian and Indigenous Language and Culture Revitalization through Ka Haka ʻUla O Keʻelikōlani College of Hawaiian Language, University of Hawaii Hilo. He also holds a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from the University of Alaska Fairbanks and earned his Bachelor of Arts in English with a minor in American Indian Studies from the University of Minnesota.