Esther Martinez Native American Languages Preservation Act Of 2006

ESTHER MARTINEZ NATIVE AMERICAN LANGUAGES PRESERVATION ACT OF 2006 -- (Extensions of Remarks - September 28, 2006)

SPEECH OF HON. BETTY McCOLLUM OF MINNESOTA
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2006

* Ms. McCOLLUM of Minnesota. Mr. Speaker, there is an urgent need to protect and preserve Native American languages. In my state of Minnesota, it is becoming more difficult to find elders to teach the Ojibwe language--the fourth most spoken Native language in North America.

* The facts cannot be ignored--decades of federal restrictions on the instruction and use of Native languages led to their deliberate decline.

* Despite treaties and laws and executive orders that call for the preservation and incorporation of Native language and culture in education--we are living at a time when Native American languages and culture are being eroded.

* Title VII--which exists to ensure Native children receive Native language and culture instruction--has been reduced or reallocated to other functions of the No Child Left Behind law--despite significant research proving that Native children do better in all subjects when taught through the use of Native languages and culture.

* Schools have felt pressure from the Bush administration to instead spend resources for Native language and culture on the goals of Bush's No Child Left Behind law. Title VII resources must be focused on Title VII goals--not siphoned off to support other goals of the Bush administration--especially at the expense of Native American children.

* Native children have the right to the education they are promised--that means the highest quality education--including instruction in their language.

* As a Nation, we must reaffirm our commitment to preserve, to honor, and to teach the living traditions, cultures, and languages of the First Americans who have and continue to contribute to the strength of our Nation as teachers, community leaders, business owners, artists, elected officials, and neighbors--and the brave men and women who have fought in our armed services.

* Native Americans have identified the recovery and preservation of their languages as one of their highest priorities. As a country, we have a moral obligation to live up to our commitments to the First Americans.

* It is my hope that Congress will do what is right--and recommit our Nation's resources to strengthen Native American languages for all Native people across the entire country.

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