In a heartwarming moment, a New Mexico woman decided to test a local Burger King employee’s language skills by placing her order in Navajo, her native tongue. The result was both surprising and uplifting.
Today, Navajo is the most spoken Native American language in the U.S., with around 170,000 speakers, according to Babbel. Deidra Castillo, hailing from Albuquerque and originally from the small Navajo community of Pueblo Pintado, proudly speaks this language.
Reflecting on her early education, Castillo shared, “In preschool, everything needed to be translated into Navajo for me, but I later learned English.” She noted that fewer young people are learning Navajo nowadays, attributing this decline to a lack of encouragement from parents to speak the language at home.
For Castillo, the Navajo language is essential to cultural identity. She believes it should be spoken widely across the reservation: “Our roots are incredibly important; they give us strength and resilience.” Despite the hurdles faced by her community, she emphasizes the power of language as a means to overcome challenges.
Recently, while visiting a Burger King in Gallup—a town adjacent to the Navajo Nation—Castillo decided to order her meal in Navajo. She discovered some unique aspects of the language during this endeavor. “We use the word ‘soda’ for soft drinks and describe the colors for specific brands,” she explained.
TikTok/@deedracastillo
Castillo later shared her experience on TikTok, and she was pleasantly surprised when the cashier understood her order, even if she didn’t respond in Navajo. “I ordered a Whopper Meal with a dark soda, and she got it right,” Castillo enthused.
Her viral TikTok video has gathered over 1.3 million views, and she hopes it inspires others to appreciate and embrace the Navajo language. “I want fellow Native Americans to feel proud of their language and to know it’s perfectly okay to learn and speak it,” Castillo says. “Be proud!”