Original article here: http://www.cs.org/publications/win/win-article.cfm?id=2913
The effort to preserve vanishing Native American languages received a significant boost on December 6, when the Senate unanimously passed the Esther Martinez Native American Language Preservation Act (H.R. 4766). The legislation had earlier passed the House of Representatives with broad bipartisan support, and it now is on the desk of President Bush, who is expected to sign it into law.
The bill, named for a 94-year-old Tewa language teacher who died in September, would provide a competitive grant system for native language immersion programs throughout the country. The grants would support "language nests" for children under the age of seven and their families, and it would also support language survival schools for elementary and secondary school students. Tribes would receive funds both to create new programs and to support and expand existing ones.
The immersion approach raised objections from "English-only" advocates, most notably Senator Charles Coburn of Oklahoma, who was the final holdout in the Senate. But Indian groups, including the National Indian Education Association (NIEA), worked to reassure legislators that the program posed no threat to students’ learning English. Advocates also won over senators by inviting Navajo "code-talkers" to speak to the Congress. These native soldiers during World War II provided an unbreakable code—their unique and unwritten language—that played a significant role in winning the Pacific campaign.
"It’s been a lot of work this past year," said Lillian Sparks, executive director of NIEA, "but we’re incredibly excited to have these new grant programs to protect native languages."
The program will be administered through the Administration for Native Americans within the Department of Health and Human Services. The bill provides appropriations through the year 2012, but it does not specify an exact amount, so the next step for language advocates is to press for increased funding for the ANA.
Sources and Further Reading:
[Native American Languages Preservation Act of 2006 Passed in the US House] December 13, 2006
[National Indian Education Association] December 13, 2006