Esther Martinez Native American Languages Programs Reauthorization Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. LUJAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of the Esther Martinez Native American Languages Programs Reauthorization Act.

With the passage of this legislation, Congress has made monumental progress to affirm Native communities honoring their heritage by speaking the languages gifted to them by their creators.

Today, we recognize the only existing Federal Native language education grant programs. These programs give our first Americans crucial support to protect their languages from extinction.

Today is a historic moment, a blessing, and I want to offer thanks to the people who made this achievement possible.

We owe our deepest gratitude to Esther Martinez of Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo, who ensured Tewa is spoken across New Mexico. Her passion for her culture and tradition is what brought us together today.

To the educators who work every day to ensure Native languages are here for future generations, thank you.

I thank my colleague Senator Tom Udall, who has made reauthorization of these programs a top priority for more than a decade and successfully secured passage of the legislation in the U.S. Senate.

I would also like to recognize Congressman Grijalva, Mr. Speaker, for his leadership on behalf of Tribes and Native peoples.

I am deeply grateful for my colleagues Congresswomen Haaland and Torres Small, Chairmen Young and Cole, Congresswomen McCollum and Gabbard, and Chairman Scott for joining together to ensure this legislation had its day on the House floor.

I thank and recognize all the Pueblo, Apache, and Navajo leaders from New Mexico, including those in the gallery today.

With the permission of her family, I am honored to celebrate the legacy that Esther Martinez and her Pueblo have shared with the world.

New Mexico boasts a rich history and diversity that includes 23 Native Nations and seven indigenous language groups found nowhere else on Earth. Esther Martinez, a master educator and linguist, dedicated her life to the Tewa language, which today is spoken across six northern Pueblos in my district and in Hopi-Tewa in Arizona.

As a child whose first language was Tewa, Mrs. Martinez attended a government-run Indian boarding school where nearly everything that made her a Pueblo woman was banned, including her language.

Her experience is not unique. Generations of Native families had their children torn from their arms, bound for schools that forced English and Western education on Native students.

Despite living through a period of overt racism with Federal policies aimed at exterminating Native culture, Mrs. Martinez defied the odds by returning to Ohkay Owingeh. She raised her children and family to speak the Tewa dialect. Esther went on to teach many more as a linguist, a schoolteacher, and the director of bilingual education for her Pueblo.

Her legacy lives on in the sounds of Tewa being spoken in her community. Her son Tony and daughters Marie and Josephine are raising their children and grandchildren with Tewa in their homes. Her daughter Mercedes is a regular attendee at adult language classes taught by one of Esther Martinez' proteges.

Esther Martinez' grandson, former Lieutenant Governor Matthew Martinez, a doctor of American studies and American Indian studies, advances his culture at Santa Fe's Museum of Indian Arts and Culture. He is also teaching Tewa to his youngest son.

Today, we pass this legislation knowing that it will help Native communities protect their languages for generations to come. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this important legislation.

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