Biden-Harris Administration Releases 10-Year National Plan on Native Language Revitalization

Date: Monday, December 9, 2024
Contact: Interior_Press@ios.doi.gov

WASHINGTON — At the 2024 White House Tribal Nations Summit today, Departments of the Interior, Education and Health and Human Services (HHS) released a 10-year National Plan on Native Language Revitalization, which outlines a comprehensive, government-wide strategy to support the revitalization, protection, preservation and reclamation of Native languages. The plan, a joint effort of the agencies, charts a path to help address the United States government’s role in the loss of Native languages across the continental United States, Alaska and Hawaiʻi.   

The National Plan on Native Language Revitalization is part of the Biden-Harris administration’s work to confront the systematic and deliberate campaign by the United States to forcibly assimilate Indigenous peoples and eradicate Native languages and cultures—a campaign extensively documented by Secretary Haaland’s Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative, and formally acknowledged by President Biden in his October 2024 apology to Native communities.   

“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 Secretary of the Interior 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.”  

“I always say: multilingualism is a superpower—and that includes Native American languages. During my time as Secretary of Education, I’ve been fortunate to travel through Indian Country and learn beautiful words in Oneida, Dakota, and Nakota languages. One thing was crystal clear: when young people reclaim their native languages, they reconnect deeply with who they are and where they come from,” said Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona. “But Native peoples have suffered from shameful policies that aimed to eradicate these languages and cultures for too long. I am hopeful that this national plan is a start to the federal government’s remediation of its participation in those policies. And I am hopeful we can all choose to keep fighting for a future where Native communities have the tools and support to keep their languages alive and their cultures thriving.”  

“We use language to write history, share knowledge, map the future, and pass down traditions,” said Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra. “Investing in language revitalization strengthens communities and contributes to their resiliency. HHS is a proud and critical contributor to this coordinated effort and the benefits it will deliver.”  

The plan addresses a chronic under-investment in Native language revitalization to date. The Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) funds 183 schools for American Indian and Alaska Native students and is tasked with providing Indigenous students with a culturally-relevant high-quality education – yet it received no dedicated funding for language revitalization until 2017 and annual appropriations have not exceeded $7.5 million for any one budget year in the years since. The plan released today calls for a $16.7 billion investment for Native language revitalization programs for federally recognized Tribes and the Native Hawaiian Community.   

Developed in consultation with Tribal Nations, non-profit organizations, subject-matter experts, and key stakeholders, the plan calls for:  

• Expanding access to immersion language environments by:  
  • Supporting 100 language nests, educational programs, that provide childcare and instruction in a Native language for children under the age of seven. 
  • Funding 100 new K-12 Native language immersion schools, educational institutions where at least 50% of instruction is conducted in a Native language.  
  • Supporting 37 centers dedicated to language preservation, instruction and cultural studies to revitalize and support language and culture, including those at Tribal Colleges and Universities. 
  • Providing scholarships for families to support language and culture.  
• Bolstering community-led revitalization efforts by:
  • Supporting 100 mentor-apprentice programs—initiatives pairing fluent speakers with adult learners for intensive language transmission.  
  • Restructuring the way federal funds are allocated to support Tribal sovereignty and self-determination through a flexible funding model that flows money directly to Tribes and Native Hawaiian Organizations.  
  • Funding community-based summer, supplemental and after-school programs to increase Native language learning opportunities outside of traditional classrooms.  
• Developing, growing and sustaining Native language support networks by:  
  • Recruiting and training 10,000 Native language teachers to meet the need for educators. 
  • Establishing a $100 million innovation fund to encourage Tribes, individuals and the private sector to develop new solutions for language revitalization through curriculum and technology.  
  • Supporting technical assistance providers to create schools and programs, including those with expertise in urban Indian settings and with the Native Hawaiian Community. 

Additionally, today the Interior Department is announcing a cooperative agreement with the National Fund for Excellence in American Indian Education. This partnership will provide $7.5 million in existing grant funding to BIE schools supporting the launch or expansion of immersion programs and create a network of educators and school leaders committed to Native language revitalization. This funding will help build a network of BIE schools committed to integrating Native language immersion and cultural education into their curricula, offering students the tools to connect with their language and heritage. Together with the National Plan for Native Language Revitalization, these efforts create a comprehensive strategy to protect, preserve and reclaim Indigenous languages across the United States.  

The White House Tribal Nations Summit provides an opportunity for the Biden-Harris administration and Tribal leaders from the 574 federally recognized Tribes to discuss ways the federal government can invest in and strengthen nation-to-nation relationships as well as ensure that progress in Indian Country endures for years to come.

###