Marie Pino was born in Sheep Springs, N.M. Like many Native children in her generation, she attended boarding school–hers in Oklahoma–and later attended Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, Kan., where she met her husband.

A beloved teacher, Pino worked at Alamo Navajo Community School over 40 plus years. Marie Pino fondly referred to the students she taught as “shí yázhí,” a Navajo phrase that means “my children.” She didn’t just know their names, she also knew their families. In many cases, she’d taught their parents. When Pino’s students struggled with a lesson, she would explain it in Navajo to help them rethink the idea.