native american languages

[Mathea]

Hello there, I would love to learn about native american languages and culture, I know there are many languages, but I don't know which ones are still spoken.. If someone could recommend books or websites, anything about your culture :) Thanks

[OLChemist]

Welcome to powwows.com

It is a desperate time for many of our Native languages -- for minority languages throughout the world. 96% of the world's population speak 4% of the world's languages (UNESCO). Many indigenous languages of North America have only an handful of elderly speakers.

Here is a story from the front lines of efforts to save a language which is dear but not near to me, for I too am part of the generations that lost their voices:

Hótȟaŋiŋpi

[Mathea]

Thank you so much for information. It's so sad that Lakota and other native american languages are in extinction.

I feel really atracted to your culture, and don't know why nor I don't know much about it, that's because I want to learn more. :)

[OLChemist]

Cultures. Many not one.

At the time of contact, there were cities that matched those in Europe and Asia in size and sophistication. There were empires that rivaled those in Europe. There were hunters and gathers, city dwelling bureaucrats and priests, sea faring fisherman and traders, and sophisticated farming cultures. The cultural range within the New World was as large as that in the Old World. There are over 500 federally recognized tribes within the US alone. We have no one religion, language or culture.

Some reading on contemporary Native Life:


Keeping Heart on Pine Ridge, Victor Glover; Native Voices: Summertown, TN, 2004.

Rez Life, David Treuer; Atlantic Monthly Press:New York, 2012.

Bead on an Anthill: A Lakota Childhood, Delphine Red Shirt; Bison Books: Lincoln, NE, 1999.

Turtle Lung Woman's Granddaughter, Delphine Red Shirt; Bison Books: Lincoln, NE, 2003.

Navajos Wear Nikes, Jim Kristofic, University of New Mexico Press, 2011.


Books about Native Life

[john21wall]

You could try general language exchange sites such as The Mixxer and Lang-8: you never know who you're going to meet on one of these sites. Also, you could try going to a local college. Colleges and universities often have large international/diverse populations, so you may be able to meet someone that speaks your language there.

[Joe's Dad]

Thank you so much for information. It's so sad that Lakota and other native american languages are in extinction.

I feel really atracted to your culture, and don't know why nor I don't know much about it, that's because I want to learn more. :)

Where did you hear they were 'in extinction'?

[WhoMe]

Of the over 250 indigenous language and dialects spoken in the United States, "74 Indigenous languages are on the brink of extinction." ~ MIT Indigenous language report

While doing field work in Oklahoma, of the 39 tribes living there, 9 tribes had no fluent speakers and 10 were on their last generation of fluent language speakers, leading me to the conclusion that "we are in the worst era of language extinction in history." Last month the last fluent speaker of the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes passed away.

[DaisyMaisy]

I don't know about in Croatia, but when I went to school in California, we learned that the Native languages all died out with the Indians. You know, after the Spanish missions "improved" things. Imagine my shock when I met a Hupa speaker in college! Seriously though, I think a lot of non-Indians are surprised by how many Indians are still running around.

I don't have anything to add to the discussion really, but I am a huge language nerd and I read a lot. There is a really cool book called "Bringing our Languages Home" by Leanne Hinton. There are success stories out there, which is great. Taking languages away from people like was done in the boarding schools is just stupefyingly awful. I guess they knew how damaging it would be, and that's why they did it. Sigh.
Anyway, on happier note that link OLChemist posted looks really interesting and I'm going to go watch it!