Preserving Native American Languages
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Language is the most important medium of communication shared by its native speakers which also constitutes to social life and activities within the community of its speakers (Speicher and Bielanski 147). Before the Europeans came to North America, there were thousands of Native American languages spoken throughout the continent. However, nearly all of these languages once spoken have died or are considered critically endangered (“Endangered Languages"); only few of them survived until present times.
According to Cultural Survival, partnering with Indigenous Peoples to Defend Their Lands, Languages and Cultures, languages of Native American tribes carry unique philosophies, histories, ceremonies, and irreplaceable environmental knowledge. Moreover, Cultural Survival says that they constitute both the core and the foundations of tribal identities. Thus, the preservation of Native American languages is culturally essential, and needs more attention in the 21st century. According to the U.S. Bureau Census about Native North American Languages Spoken at Home in the United States and Puerto Rico between 2006 and 2010, there are 381 distinct non-English languages, and 169 of these are Native American languages. However, the number of speakers of these languages is less than half a million, while the number of English-speakers is 227 million. The Census also showed the languages spoken by different age groups. Alternatively, while English is spoken above 80% of all age categories, the highest rate of Native American languages spoken is only 5.6% between the age of 18 and 65. This data shows that the different languages used by the Native American population are becoming lost as the population of these tribes decrease
During the past 10 years, the preservation of Native American languages has started getting more attention by the media; articles were published and studies were carried out regarding the languages spoken in Native American reservations. In addition to this, Native American tribe members have begun focusing more on finding ways to preserve their own languages.