As we move into Spring, we are thrilled to share a spotlight on a current LTS student, Kes-e-loh McQuillen, member of the Yurok Tribe.

First, please tell us a bit about yourself and your background.

Aiy-ue-kwee’ ke-lew! Nek’ n-ew’ Kes-e-loh McQuillen. We-go-noy-ek’ Kese. Tue-rep ‘e-see ‘En-chwoh ‘ne-mew’. Eugene Okw’. ‘Ne-check ‘w-ew’ Buffy McQuillen. ‘Neyp-sech ‘w-ew’ Raymond McQuillen. ‘Nee-nee chey ‘ne-le’y ‘w-ew’ William McQuillen. ‘Ne-cheech ‘w-ew’ Tey-wu-lauw McQuillen. ‘Ne-kue-chos ‘w-ew ‘aa-wok Betty McQuillen ‘e-see ‘aa-wok Pam Mitchell. ‘Ne-peech-o-wos ‘w-ew ‘’aa-wok Jim McQuillen Sr. ‘e-see Tyrone Mitchell.

The translation in English is: Hello, everyone! My name is Kes-e-loh McQuillen and my nickname is Kese. I am from the village of Turip on the Klamath River and the village of En-chwoh along the Smith River. Currently, I stay in Eugene, OR which is on the homelands of the Kalapuya llihi peoples. I am an enrolled member of the Yurok Tribe and I am of Yuki, Northern Pomo, and Nomolaki descent. My mother is Buffy McQuillen and my father is Raymond McQuillen and my younger brother is William McQuillen and my younger sister is Tey-wu-lauw McQuillen. My grandmothers were poor Betty McQuillen and poor Pamela Mitchell. My grandfathers are poor Jim McQuillen Sr. and my grandpa is Tryone Mitchell. A Yurok introduction is typically taught first to Novice learners and consists of your name, the village you’re from, where you live and your lineage. I graduated from Ukiah High School in 2018, attended Santa Rosa Junior College to play soccer and softball, and then graduated with a BA in Native American Studies from Cal Poly Humboldt.

What inspired you to focus on teaching and developing the Yurok language curriculum?

My inspiration to focus on teaching and developing curriculum comes from the past, current, and future generations of Yurok teachers and learners. The Yurok community has greatly contributed to the survival and resurgence of the language not only in the home but in the education system. During the isolation of COVID-19, I spent time learning and practicing vocabulary & phrases from the Berkeley Yurok Dictionary and ‘aa-wok Georgiana Trull’s Yurok Language Conversation Book, and once the Yurok Language Program’s Workshops started up I attended as often as I could. While attending Cal Poly Humboldt, I worked for the Yurok Tribe’s education department as a part-time tutor, and in this position I was able to get my first hands-on experience in the classroom, which had contributed to growing my confidence in teaching the language. In pursuing this degree, I continuously find inspiration and motivation to complete this program because of the support system I have back at home and at UO.

What have been some of your past experiences with Yurok language teaching? What did you enjoy about it?

For my Yurok language teaching experience, I have spent time teaching formal Yurok 1-4 classes at McKinleyville and Eureka High Schools in Northern California. Each experience was filled with opportunities for growth, sharing cultural knowledge, and developing community advocacy for language revitalization. In a different context, being an employee for California State Parks in cultural interpretation, I have had multiple educational programs and presentations about Yurok ethnography, Yurok language, etc. to the Yurok/local community and the K-12 education system all throughout California in collaboration with Parks Online Resources for Teachers and Students Program (PORTS).

In LTS, students are focusing on various languages and language learning contexts that are mostly very different from yours. How do you feel this diversity is helpful, and also how are you needing to carve out your own path in the program?

The diversity within this cohort is incredible and creates an atmosphere of home. Although most of the cohort is developing curriculum in a majoritized world language, a few of my classmates share their culture/teaching experiences of their Indigenous languages. In carving out my own path in the LTS program, each course in the four terms has adaptable assignments/projects that I can conform to my own content & context. This flexibility has supported my aspirations to create Yurok materials that fit the learner’s needs and the upcoming Yurok language curriculum.

What are you hoping to gain from your experiences at the UO? What do you hope to do after you graduate this Summer?

I hope to gain experiences with designing curriculum, to gain knowledge about teacher and learner strategies, and develop an awareness in classroom management that has a student-centered approach. After graduation, I plan to return back home to continue working with the Yurok Language Program in various capacities.

What is a fun fact about yourself that others may not know?

A fun fact about me is that within recent years I have rediscovered a love for beadwork. It started as creating a designed felt hat for my mom’s birthday and now I am slowly growing my small Instagram business called Tribal Creations by Kes. As a kid, my mom, aunties and cousins would teach myself and others how to make earrings, necklaces, etc. and this has grown to be my creative outlet.