Preserving Language and Culture
All images by Dulce Morales
Our new community partner, Ma Hñäkihu, is dedicated to preserving the Indigenous Hñähñu language and culture within the community here in Western North Carolina. We connected with Janet Hurley, Ma Hñäkihu’s Grant Coordinator, to learn about their mission, the importance of their work and how the community can support them.
Can you tell us about the mission of Ma Hñäkihu?
Ma Hñäkihu Language Preservation Project’s mission is to preserve and revitalize the Indigenous Hñähñu language, folk arts and culture, as a critical piece of ensuring a strong sense of self esteem, collective cultural identity, and the healing of intergenerational trauma.
Who are the people behind Ma Hñäkihu, and what motivates them?
Abel Bueno Gonzales and Gregorio “Goyo” Ortiz, both Indigenous Hñähñu from the Mezquital Valley of Hidalgo State, Mexico now living in Buncombe County, started Ma Hñäkihu in 2018. The name broadly means “caring for our language” which, as Abel has said, “is like the blood running in our veins.”
That is what motivated them, the fear that their community here could lose their original language if it wasn’t spoken at home and passed down from original speakers. Like Indigenous people elsewhere in the Americas, the Hñähñu still contend with the legacies of colonialism, which include culturally-based disparities and erasure in Mexico and in the United States. Abel and Goyo understood that their Hñähñu neighbors carry intergenerational trauma and shame which kept them from speaking the Hñähñu language and enjoying traditional culture practices. And this was constricting their ability to truly thrive.
In the beginning, Abel and Goyo went door-to-door in their community to identify Hñähñu neighbors they didn’t know, and reacquaint themselves with those they did. Many shared their fear about the next generation being unable to speak the Hñähñu language. They were asked for their ideas and hopes for language and cultural revitalization. Abel and Goyo were guided by these to create language practice circles, workshops, curriculum and teaching videos. They engaged all ages, from pre-school to elders. They also knew that community celebration was essential and held their first Indigenous community festival in August of 2022, Celebrating Our Cultures.
The following year, Graciela Perez joined the team, as Goyo needed to transition out. A Hñähñu speaker who loves to dance, she organized Ma Hñäkihu’s traditional dance group, bringing in new Hñähñu neighbors. A musical group soon followed, led by Abel and, in 2025, they added a children’s choir. Through all of the work, Graciela says, they are providing safe spaces for Hñähñu speakers to meet and creating spaces for children to connect with their Hñähñu roots.
How can people get involved or support your mission?
Ma Hñäkihu operates on the classic shoe string budget and Abel and Graciela are always grateful for economic or in-kind support such as sponsorships so that they can have materials for the language workshops, costumes for the traditional dancers (adults and youth), instruments for the musical group and continue to host the annual festival which has grown to over 400 attendees each year.
*Ma Hñäkihu operates under La Milpa, a parent organization to community partners we have worked with in the past.
