<HTML><BODY style="word-wrap: break-word; -khtml-nbsp-mode: space; -khtml-line-break: after-white-space; "><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><A href="http://www.kpua.net/news.php?id=8134"><FONT class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial" size="2"><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 10px;">http://www.kpua.net/news.php?id=8134</SPAN></FONT></A></DIV><P style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px"><FONT class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial" size="2"><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 10px;"> </SPAN></FONT></P><TABLE width="1047.0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" style="width: 1047.0px"><TBODY><TR><TD valign="middle" style="width: 1043.0px; margin: 0.5px 0.5px 0.5px 0.5px; padding: 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px 5.0px"><DIV style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><FONT class="Apple-style-span" face="Verdana" size="4"><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px;"><B>Akaka introduces Native American Language bill</B></SPAN></FONT></DIV></TD></TR><TR><TD valign="middle" style="width: 1043.0px; margin: 0.5px 0.5px 0.5px 0.5px; padding: 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px 5.0px"><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Arial; min-height: 14px; "><BR></DIV></TD></TR><TR><TD valign="middle" style="width: 1043.0px; margin: 0.5px 0.5px 0.5px 0.5px; padding: 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px 5.0px"><TABLE width="1043.0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" style="width: 1043.0px; padding: 1.0px 0.0px 1.0px 0.0px"><TBODY><TR><TD valign="middle" style="width: 1037.0px; margin: 0.5px 0.5px 0.5px 0.5px; padding: 0.0px 1.0px 0.0px 1.0px"><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><FONT class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial" size="2"><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 10px;">By Associated Press</SPAN></FONT></DIV></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR><TD valign="middle" style="width: 1043.0px; margin: 0.5px 0.5px 0.5px 0.5px; padding: 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px 5.0px"><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Arial; min-height: 14px; "><BR></DIV></TD></TR><TR><TD valign="middle" style="width: 1043.0px; margin: 0.5px 0.5px 0.5px 0.5px; padding: 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px 5.0px"><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><FONT class="Apple-style-span" face="Verdana">HONOLULU (AP) _ Hawaii Senator Daniel Akaka introduced the Native American Language Amendments Act Friday.</FONT><FONT class="Apple-style-span" face="Verdana"> </FONT></DIV><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Verdana; min-height: 15px; "><BR></DIV><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><FONT class="Apple-style-span" face="Verdana">He says it will help ensure that families across the country are never forced to relinquish their language or culture.</FONT><FONT class="Apple-style-span" face="Verdana"> </FONT></DIV><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Verdana; min-height: 15px; "><BR></DIV><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><FONT class="Apple-style-span" face="Verdana">Under his bill, the Secretary of Education would provide funds for the establishment of Native American language nests and language survival school programs. A nest is a language immersion program for the youngest members of a native population.</FONT><FONT class="Apple-style-span" face="Verdana"> </FONT></DIV><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Verdana; min-height: 15px; "><BR></DIV><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><FONT class="Apple-style-span" face="Verdana">The bill would also provide nests and survival schools with alternative methods of achieving national education standards.</FONT><FONT class="Apple-style-span" face="Verdana"> </FONT></DIV><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Verdana; min-height: 15px; "><BR></DIV><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><FONT class="Apple-style-span" face="Verdana">Senator Daniel Inouye is cosponsoring the measure. He says language is the heart of all cultures, and when a language withers, so, too, does its culture.</FONT><FONT class="Apple-style-span" face="Verdana"> </FONT></DIV><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Verdana; min-height: 15px; "><BR></DIV><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><FONT class="Apple-style-span" face="Verdana">(Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved.)</FONT></DIV></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV></BODY></HTML>