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KnowledgeBases > The American Indian Education KnowledgeBase > Element 4 > Activity 4 > Task 3: Know About Efforts to Revitalize and Teach American Indian and Other Indigenous Languages

Guideline: As fewer and fewer people speak American Indian and other indigenous languages, there is an increasing awareness of the effects of the loss of these languages and the cultures they embody on American Indian and other indigenous peoples.  Efforts are being made worldwide to revitalize indigenous languages and to pass them on to new generations of speakers.  Indigenous language revitalization is seen by many as a part of a needed healing process to restore the health of native communities adversely effected by colonial assimilationist educational policies.
Guidelines Guidelines for Strengthening Indigenous Languages _EXTERNAL_LINK
Published by the Alaska Native Knowledge Network these "guidelines offer suggestions for our Elders, parents, children and educators to use in strengthening their heritage language with support from the Native community, schools, linguists and education agencies." Though initially developed for Alaskan native groups the guidelines are useful to any group working to strengthen their native language.
References Cultural Rights, Language Revival, and Individual Healing _EXTERNAL_LINK
This article from the Language Learner magazine describes the importance that many American Indians give to efforts to revitalize their languages.
References National Alliance to Save Native Languages _EXTERNAL_LINK

As noted at its website, "the National Alliance to Save Native Languages was founded in October of 2006 for the exclusive purpose of promoting the revitalization of Native Languages. The Alliance is comprised of a coalition of stakeholders including tribes, schools, and individuals, regional and national organizations."

References Native American Language Immersion

Authored by Dr. Janine Pease-Pretty On Top, this study focuses on Native American language immersion schools and projects. The W. K. Kellogg Foundation supported this analysis, to describe and analyze native language immersion activities for children and families.

References Teaching Indigenous Languages _EXTERNAL_LINK

This website offers resources related to teaching indigenous languages. As noted at the website, "it is an outgrowth of a series of annual conferences started in 1994 at Northern Arizona University to help achieve the goals of the Native American Languages Act of 1990, which makes it government policy to promote, protect, and preserve the Indigenous languages of the United States of America."

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Next: Task 4: Learn About Tribal Language Immersion Schools Previous: Task 2: Discover How American Indian and Indigenous Languages Around the World Are Endangered


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