3 departments unveil the government-wide strategy at 2024 Tribal Nations Summit.
The Departments of the Interior, Education, and Health and Human Services announced a 10-year plan for Native Language Revitalization last week during the 2024 Tribal Nations Summit.
The U.S. government attempted to eradicate Indigenous languages during the 19th and 20th centuries, forcing young children to attend boarding schools away from their families where only English was spoken. This plan proposes methods to reverse that cultural damage, including training Native language teachers, establishing language immersion schools, and providing flexible funding options for Tribal Nation language programs.
“Indigenous languages are central to our cultures, our life ways, and who we are as people. They connect us to our ancestors, to our homelands, and to our place in the world,” said Interior Secretary Deb Haaland. “This ambitious plan represents the Biden-Harris administration’s commitment to address the wrongs of the past and restore what has been taken from us.”
As the Lord Leads, Pray with Us…
- For the secretaries of the departments as they collaborate on Native Language Revitalization.
- For wisdom for government officials as they seek to rectify wrongs in the nation’s history.
Sources: Department of the Interior
