[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 121 (Thursday, July 21, 2022)]
[House]
[Page H6941]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  LANGUAGE IS THE LIFEBLOOD OF CULTURE

  (Mr. JOHNSON of South Dakota) asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. JOHNSON of South Dakota. Mr. Speaker, 175 native languages are 
spoken in this country today, and they are threatened. Without 
preservation efforts, by the year 2050 there will be fewer than 20 
spoken.
  Now, for best fluency, you really should start language education by 
the age of 10. And luckily, that is what Pine Ridge's, Thunder Valley 
CDC, and the rural grant initiative are doing. They are using dollars 
from the Esther Martinez Native Languages Program, which we have 
funded, to teach Lakota to the youngest students. It is incredibly 
powerful.
  Mr. Speaker, language is the lifeblood of culture, and I am so proud 
that these two programs are working hard in South Dakota to preserve 
language and culture.

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