This story originally aired on December 9, 2017.
Lois Langrebe has taught Lushootseed for over two decades, a dying language of the Tulalip tribes that she’s struggling to keep from going extinct.
It’s an important role that she never expected to fill while growing up.
A child of adoption, Lois was raised by a white family, knowing little about her origins or the culture of Native Americans. For years she struggled with her identity and finding a place that truly felt like home.
And then she says God, or the Great Spirit, stepped in and helped her fill a void, like a drop hitting water and making a ripple.