Language is a window through which we interpret our reality. Words define significant aspects of our culture and help us move effectively through the society we live in. For example, the words “watering can” tell us the components of an object and what to do with it. If you saw a watering can for the first time, you could wager a guess about what it is used for, but you might mistake it for an instrument used in food trucks to apply powdered sugar to fried dough en masse. The matter that we have words for exists readily in the space between our tongue and teeth, waiting to be rendered. What happens to matter when language is systematically erased? The matter itself remains, lingering in the bodies in which it is ingrained. Meanwhile, millions of windows are boarded up in millions of brains. Suddenly, a bowl is just a concave disc, a wheel is a disc that is sometimes hollowed out, and a fork is just round then pointy, pointy, pointy, pointy, and we do not exactly know how to use any of it. We could adapt, of course, but without our language, there is fundamental knowledge that could take centuries to relearn.
Beyond being a mode of communication, language comprises a world view. For many Native American tribes, language enables the continuance of the culture itself, the health of the planet and the people of the tribe. According to the International Journal for Equity and Health, “From principles of traditional ecological knowledge to traditional healing methodologies, Indigenous language is the vessel that most efficiently carries these cultural lifeways.” By this, the article refers to the ways in which Native languages have coevolved with the environment over thousands of years.
The U.S. government attempted to cripple the sovereignty of Native communities through eradicating native languages. By 1926, over 60,889 Native American children (83 percent of Native American school age children) had been kidnapped and forcibly enrolled in the over 523 government funded, church-run boarding schools, according to the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition. The goal of these schools was to “Kill the Indian and Save the Man” through banning the speaking of Native languages and cultural practices. In 2015, the Administration for Native Americans identified that of the 245 known Native languages in the U.S., 65 were already extinct, and 75 were near extinction with only a few native speakers left. Language restoration provides an opportunity to rebuild tribes from the inside out through substituting abusive systems of native language eradication with community-centered systems of reconnection.
Although Native Americans are at a higher risk for poor physical and mental health outcomes, the revitalization of indigenous languages has tangible positive impacts on Native communities in both areas, according to the International Journal for equity and health. The health benefits that were outlined in the article included reduced risk of suicide, obesity and diabetes due to a range of potential effects of increased Indigenous language usage: increased rates of social connection, physical activity relating to traditional tribal activities and consumption of traditional food. It is also important to note that physical illnesses, such as diabetes, can be expensive for a population that already faces economic hardships.
According to the National Museum of the American Indian, the strong traditions of storytelling in Indigenous cultures are vital to Native educational systems, as they help children develop their memories, listening skills and imagination, as well as support broader social and emotional learning. In terms of promoting language learning through the use of oral storytelling, film is a promising avenue. In addition, short, highly focused videos such as “Let’s all speak the language: Mahican 1” can provide widespread access to a fluent language teacher, as well as the option of repetition at one’s discretion. In an NPR interview, Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation Chuck Hoskin Jr. identified the passage of time and the fragility of human life as the biggest obstacles the tribe is up against when it comes to Cherokee-language learning due to the fact that most native Cherokee speakers are over the age of 70. He also explained that language learning takes resources and time, and so people have to be able to have a life using the language in order for them to commit to learning it. Thus, the more self-sustaining a tribe is, the greater the possibility of being able to lead a life predominantly using a native language.
[Correction: An earlier version of this article misspelled Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation Chuck Hoskin Jr.’s name.]