Aspen Decker

Aspen Decker is an enrolled member of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai
Tribes (T̓at̓ayáqn, Qlispé & Sqlsé) and a reviver of her tribal language, Nsélišcn ‘Salish language’. She is an M.A. graduate student in the Linguistics Program at the University of Montana. She graduated with a B.A. in Tribal Historic Preservation from Salish Kootenai College. She also has a Class 7 Native American Language and Culture educators license in the State of Montana. 

Her passion for Salish language began when she was 13 years old, learning from her elder Patlik Pierre. He taught her about the importance of perpetuating Salish language and culture. Raising her children as first language Salish speakers has been one of the ways that she honors his teachings.