Aspen Decker is an enrolled member of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (T̓ata̓yáqn, Ql̓isp̓é & Ksanka) and a speaker of her tribal language, Nsélišcn ‘Salish language’. She graduated with a master’s degree in linguistics from the University of Montana and earned a bachelor’s degree in Tribal Historic Preservation from Salish Kootenai College. She has a Montana Class 7 Native American Language and Culture Educator License and has taught Salish for many years. Her passion for Salish language began as a child, learning from her elders, primarily, Patlik Pierre, who taught her about the importance of perpetuating Salish language and culture. Raising her children in the language as first language Salish speakers has been one of the ways that she honors their teachings. She was raised learning traditional Salish arts such as beadwork, regalia making, basket weaving which she still practices. She is also interested in and works with graphic arts incorporating Plains Ledger Art style and pictographic imagery to highlight important aspects of Salish culture.