Saving Native American Languages (fwd link)

[Phil Cash Cash]

*Colleen M Fitzgerald*

Professor of Linguistics and Director of the Native American Languages Lab
at The University of Texas at Arlington

*Saving Native American Languages*

Posted: 08/28/2014 6:29 pm EDT Updated: 08/28/2014 6:59 pm EDT

Language and Native Americans are in the news as media outlets around the
nation announce that they will no longer use the "R" word in conjunction
with Washington's NFL franchise.

They join a groundswell of public opinion against the current mascot,
ranging from #NotYourMascot activism on Twitter to the U.S. Patent and
Trademark Office canceling the team's trademarks for being "disparaging to
Native Americans."

But this isn't the only fight out there with Native American languages at
the forefront. Two bipartisan bills are under consideration in Congress:
the Native Language Immersion Student Achievement Act (H.R.4214/S.1948) and
the Native American Languages Reauthorization Act of 2014 (H.R.726/S.2299).
If passed, the bills will profoundly impact on the revitalization of Native
American languages and the education of Native American youth.

Urgent action is needed. These two bills provide key financial and
legislative support for Native American language revitalization. Not a
single Native American language is deemed "safe" for survival according to
UNESCO's Atlas of World Languages in Danger.

Access full article below:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/colleen-m-fitzgerald/saving-native-american-la_b_5732850.html
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