The U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs recently passed two bipartisan bills to support Native American Languages.

The Native American Language Resource Center Act of 2021 strengthens Native American language schools and programs with experience and coordinated support. 

Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski is Vice Chair of the Indians Affairs Committee.  

“Appreciate the opportunity to take up these important bills. We've heard them before. We had a hearing back in May, and I think we both learned that this is an effort that we all want to continue, which is to preserve and revitalize native American languages, given how critical they are sustaining native culture and philosophy.” 

The Native American Languages Resource Center is a group of institutions housed around the country to reflect the geographic diversity of the cultures, customs and languages of the Native Americans in that area. 

The second bill is the Durbin Feeling Native American Languages Act of 2021. It makes the federal government more accountable by setting clear goals and asking for direct input from Native American communities on how federal resources can be more effectively used to support and revitalize Native Languages.  

“Of the issues we face in Alaska of the more than 20 Alaska native languages, only one can be considered stable. Two of them are no longer spoken and over half of them have fewer than 20 remaining speakers. So these bills that we're taking up today are very important in addressing this issue.” 

This bill was named after Durbin Feeling, a Cherokee linguist and Vietnam Veteran who passed away last year.  

Both bills are heading to the Senate floor.