[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 37 (Friday, March 7, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Page S3371]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. INOUYE:
  S. 575. A bill to amend the Native American Languages Act to provide 
for the support of Native American language survival schools, and for 
other purposes; to the Committee on Indian Affairs.
  Mr. INOUYE. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce a bill to amend 
the Native American Languages Act to provide authorization for the 
establishment of Native American Language Survival Schools. I am 
pleased to be joined in the co-sponsorship of this measure by the 
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, Senator Ben 
Nighthorse Campbell.
  As part of the United States' forced assimilation policies towards 
Native Americans in the 1880s, the Federal Government initiated a 
system of off-reservation boarding schools. Native American Children 
were forcibly taken from their families and transported hundreds of 
miles to schools were they were subjected to efforts to eradicate all 
vestiges of their cultural background: their hair was cut 
notwithstanding the religious importance of hair length in most native 
cultures; their clothes were replaced with military-style uniforms; 
they were forbidden to practice their native religions; and they were 
punished for speaking their native languages. This effort to eradicate 
Indian culture was unsuccessful and the United States eventually 
abandoned this policy. However, the long-lasting impacts have separated 
generations of Native Americans from their native languages.
  The Native American Languages Act of 1990 officially repudiated the 
policies of the past and declared that ``it is the policy of the United 
States to preserve, protect, and promote the rights and freedom of 
Native Americans to use, practice, and develop Native American 
languages.'' The Native American Languages Act Amendments of 1992 
amended the Native American Programs Act of 1974 to establish a grant 
program to support Native American language projects which would be 
administered by the Administration for Native Americans, Department of 
Health and Human Services. This bill would bring the Nation one step 
closer to assuring the preservation and revitalization of Native 
American languages by supporting the development of Native American 
Language Survival Schools.
  The purpose of this bill is to address the effects of past 
discrimination against Native American language speakers and to support 
revitalization of such languages through the development of Native 
American Language Survival Schools and Native American language Nests. 
In addition, the bill seeks to demonstrate the positive effects of 
Native American Language Survival Schools on the academic success of 
Native American students and their mastery of standard English. An 
important component in language revitalization is family involvement 
with the Native American Language Survival Schools, as well as 
educational exchanges among Native American Language Survival Schools. 
Furthermore, the bill provides support for Native American Language 
Survival School facilities and endowments, the development of local and 
national teaching models, and the creation of a university-level 
support center system for Native American Language Survival Schools.
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