Education And Indigenous Language Revitalization In The American Southwest

Abstract

United States federal and state-level policies restricting the use of languages in public schools have negatively impacted the use of Indigenous languages and the overall education and wellbeing of Native Americans. Policies such as the boarding school era of the 19th and 20th centuries, as well as more recent decisions such as Arizona’s “English for the Children” act and “No Child Left Behind,” have claimed to assist Native American children but instead had measurable negative effects on their education. Meanwhile, Native groups across the Southwest have undertaken their own language revitalization and immersion programs, from Rock Point’s immersion program in Diné Bizaad to smaller programs such as the summer camps of the Pueblo communities. When Native groups make their own choices in leading their language and teaching their children, there are measurable positive effects both in language use and in students’ overall school performance.