Frequent Questions

General Questions

A Native American Language (NAL) is a language spoken by American Indian/ Alaska Native / Native Hawaiian/ Indigenous peopleʼs of what is now the United States of America. These languages have been spoken prior to the arrival of Europeans to the North American continent, and many continue to be spoken today. The primary goal of the N-NALRC is to ensure that all Indigenous languages of the US continue into the future.

There are an estimated 300+ Native American languages across the country, though that number changes as some languages go to sleep (losing all of their current first generation speakers) or wake up (revitalized by second language learners). 

Native American languages are spoken all across the US, including US territories, though some states and territories have larger speaking populations than others. Many Native American languages are also spoken in Canada and Mexico, as Native American Nations pre-date current political borders. 

According to the 2010 US census, about 372,095 people reported speaking at least some amount of an Indigenous language. Each community and each individual may have a different understanding of what makes a “speaker” of their language, however, so itʼs important to look to specific communities for speaker numbers of a particular language.

Language learning and multilingualism in general has been shown to support brain health and increase cognitive abilities. Learning a Native American language has been shown to equally support brain health, while also supporting connections to identity, belonging, and place (link to Hawaiian article/ resources). In Native American youth, this is particularly true (link to article). Some communities are more restrictive about who can learn language, but for Non-Indigenous learners of language who welcome their participation, stronger connections to community have also been reported.

Each tribe, Nation, and language will have itʼs own unique history when it comes to language reclamation/ revitalization. There are, however, some larger trends at the national level that many communities share. See Language Status for more details.

Native American Language Program Questions

Yes!

Often theyʼre talked about in terms of two groups:

  • “School” based, where the language program is often (though not always) incorporated into an existing school system, such as PreK-12th grade, or at the college or university level
  • “Community” based, where a language program is offered through community classes or gatherings, as part of camps, or as drop-in sessions

Within those groups, you might hear terms like:

  • Immersion programs
  • Medium programs/ schools
  • Dual language programs

The “type” of program tells you something about how much language (or languages) are part of the program itself, and what the goals of the program might be. To learn more see the Resource Library.

Yes!

 

Federal, state, and local governments may have funding opportunities, depending on what community youʼre a part of, where your language is currently at within the revitalization journey, or what type of program youʼre looking to build/ support.

If youʼre a newly interested learner, itʼs a good idea to check in with your tribe or community organization first to see if theyʼre already receiving funds.

 See the Resource Library for more information.

Congratulations! The desire to begin learning/ reclaiming/ revitalizing your language is the first step in a life long, but rewarding, process! It is also sometimes the hardest.

One place to start is to check and see whatʼs already available for your language. Are there resources that have already been developed? Documentation, either past or current? Are there first generation speakers of your language, or advanced second language learners? Are their classes being offered, either within the school system or through community organizations? If you live outside of your home community, are their online resources available?

Taking stock of whatʼs already been created can help you either individually or collectively decide where to go next.

See language program stages for more information.

How exciting!

Each program, community need, and language situation will be different, so itʼs a good idea to take stock of whatʼs already been built within your language community first. If you have an immersion pre-school for example, the next logical step may be to expand to kindergarten. Are there enough teachers (or students) to support that though, and if not what are some smaller steps that need to be implemented first?

If instead youʼre offering a one hour a week drop in language gathering, is there a way to increase the time within the language?

For more specific advice see the Direct Assistance page.

Great question!

It will largely depend on what language youʼre hoping to learn, and what community you reside in. Taking a look at your tribal/ community webpage is a good place to start to see whatʼs available. Some programs require tribal membership to access, while others are open to everyone. Some school districts will offer Indigenous language courses for high school (or university) credit, while others may not. Some languages have Zoom meetings that you can access from anywhere, while others require you to attend in-person.

See the Resource Library for more information.

Any amount of language is better than no language at all, but some language learning approaches, particularly for Native American/ endangered languages, have been shown to grow speakers more quickly than others.

Language medium education, where the target language is spoken in all situations, across all domains of use (such as ʻAha Pūnana Leo) seems to be one of the most effective models of language teaching and learning. It does, however, require a large number of proficient second language speakers, dedicated parents who themselves are speakers/ learners, and community support. Depending on your language’s situation, you or your community may need to focus on building up toward that larger model first. 

For more discussion see the Resource Library.

Each tribe, Nation, and language will have itʼs own unique history when it comes to language reclamation/ revitalization. There are, however, some larger trends at the national level that many communities share.

See this page for more details.