Given the perilous state of most Native American languages, it might be surprising to learn just how vital the Navajo language is. There are some 170,000 speakers, and plenty of kids speaking it.

Navajo is vital enough that there is a population of speakers whose command of English is somewhat limited, and as a result translation issues arise.

Case in point: Edward R. Garrison, a biologist at Dine College in New Mexico, has been managing a project to translate a glossary about cancer for the use of health workers.

Cancer and Navajo language: No longer lost in translation - Salt Lake Tribune

News From Indian Country - Dine College on quest to rename Navajo cancer terms

Black-Spencer, a community health educator at the University of New Mexico, introduces herself by name and clan to establish a relationship and earn their trust. She speaks both Navajo and English, catering to older and younger generations.

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And then there’s the issue of how to describe cancer. For decades, Navajos have used a word that when translated into English means, “the sore that does not heal” - lood doo na’dziihii.

It’s Black-Spencer’s biggest barrier and a description she says leads Navajos to lose any hope for survival. Officials at Dine College’s Shiprock campus want to change that.

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In the end, Garrison hopes to make the glossary available as a guide for people like Black-Spencer, whose work takes her to Navajo communities where she presents information on cancer.

People often boil down language issues to a black/white distinction between those who “can” and those who “can’t” speak a language. But it’s not like that. There are a host of emotional and personal issues embodied in language.