Executive order on Native American language preservation needed to protect tribal cultures

The National Congress of the American Indian, along with a number of language rights and American Indian rights groups, is urging President Obama to sign an Executive Order on Native American Language Revitalization. The order was drafted after a meeting last year between senior White House Staff and representatives from Native American communities across the nation. If signed, it would strengthen the Native American Languages Act and the Esther Martinez Native American Languages Preservation Act. The order, the draft of which is viewable in full here, would create an Interagency Working Group on Native American Language Revitalization, mobilize the coordination of federal resources for language revitalization, and appoint a Presidential Board of Advisers on Native American Languages, among other advances. The draft also includes a statement of policy which acknowledges that past federal policies have lead to “the disenfranchisement and dire economic circumstance of Native peoples in America, and to the death of scores of Native American languages.”

The Linguistic Society of America’s Committee on Endangered Languages and their Preservation has embarked on a letter-writing campaign in support of the draft. A page on their website provides a sample letter supporters can email to the president, as well as a link to where the letter can be submitted.

The draft executive order notes that more than 90 percent of Native languages are at risk of becoming extinct by 2050. What’s more telling is that of 139 remaining languages, 70 could disappear by 2015. “It is therefore critical that the federal government strengthen the ability of Native peoples to effectively engage in Native language revitalization.”

Go to the Committee on Endangered Languages and their Preservation Web site to find three ways to write to President Obama. Here is one way:

Click on this link to submit an email to the White House: Fill out the form. In the drop-down list for the Subject box, select ‘Education’. Copy and paste the letter below. Put your name at the end. At the bottom of the page, type in the phrase given to you in the red box, press send, and you are done!

Jodi Rave