During the 2024 White House Tribal Nations Summit, the Biden-Harris administration unveiled a 10-year National Plan on Native revival to aid in the revival, protection, preservation, and reclamation of Indigenous languages throughout the United States.
According to a news statement from Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, indigenous languages are essential to our cultures, ways of life, and identity as a people. They bind us to the planet, to our ancestors, and to our homelands.
The government’s role in the loss of Indigenous languages among Native American, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander populations is addressed in the National Plan, a collaborative effort among government departments.
According to Haaland, this bold initiative reflects the Biden-Harris administration’s will to right historical wrongs and restore what has been taken from us. The plan was created by the departments of Health and Human Services, Education, and the Interior.
Past assimilation practices have been addressed by the U.S. Department of the Interior.
The Department of Interior’s efforts to address the systematic and intentional policies implemented by the United States to eradicate Indigenous languages and cultures and forcefully assimilate Indigenous peoples as part of the Federal Indian Boarding School system have resulted in the National Plan on Native Language Revitalization.
According to the research, if this Plan is authorized and funded by Congress, the number of Native languages that are endangered or at risk of extinction will decline, while the number of Native Americans who speak Native languages proficiently will rise.
In 2021, the Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative was started by the Department of the Interior. Two papers that emphasized the terrible effects that the boarding school system had and still has on Indigenous communities were published by the project. A comprehensive list of all schools run by the federal government was also included.
The federal government’s participation in creating and implementing the rules was acknowledged and apologized for by President Joe Biden in October, making him the first sitting president to do so.
According to the report, many Native languages are still in danger of extinction due to the legacy of forced assimilation, and Native students’ current educational experiences are still influenced by the boarding school era.
According to the research, in order to protect Indigenous languages, Congress must take action. By 2050, there will be fewer than 20 Indigenous languages spoken in America if nothing is done. Currently, 167 Indigenous languages are used.
According to a prepared statement from Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra, language is used to chronicle history, transmit knowledge, chart the future, and preserve customs. Putting money into language revival makes communities stronger and more resilient.
Enhancing Indigenous youth’s educational results
The plan places a high priority on funding and assisting academic initiatives pertaining to Indigenous languages. To enhance the educational outcomes for all Indigenous adolescents, the strategy recommends making strategic investments in core topic instruction in Indigenous languages.
According to Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, “I always say: multilingualism is a superpower, and that includes Native American languages.”
Cardona claimed to have mastered words in the Oneida, Dakota, and Nakota languages while traveling around Indian Country in his capacity as secretary of education.
There was no doubt about it, he said: young people who recover their Native languages experience a profound reconnection with their identity and roots. However, for far too long, Native peoples have been subjected to deplorable policies that sought to obliterate these languages and cultures.
Cardona continued by expressing his expectation that the government’s remediation efforts for its involvement in Federal Indian Boarding School regulations, which have affected Indigenous communities for many generations, will begin with this national strategy.
He expressed hope that we may all decide to continue fighting for a time when Native communities would have the resources and assistance they need to preserve their languages and customs.
The Bureau of Indian Education sponsors 187 schools for Indigenous kids and strives to give them a high-quality, culturally relevant education, according to the Department of Interior. But funding for language revitalization was not allocated to the BIE until 2017, and appropriations have never above $7.5 million.
The National Fund for Excellence in American Indian Education and the Department of Interior also announced a cooperative agreement during the summit that will give BIE schools $7.5 million in current grant funding to promote the start-up or growth of immersion programs.
According to a news statement from the department, this money will support the development of a network of BIE schools dedicated to incorporating cultural education and Native language immersion into their curricula, providing kids with the means to establish a connection with their language and heritage. These initiatives, when combined with the National Plan for Native Language Revitalization, provide a thorough plan for safeguarding, conserving, and reclaiming Indigenous languages throughout the US.
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