
The University of New Mexico
NEWS RELEASE
August 29, 2006
UNM Professor to Testify on Native American Language Preservation
University of New Mexico College of Education assistant professor Christine Sims will testify before a congressional committee in Albuquerque. The U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce will hold a hearing on “Recovery and Preservation of Native American Languages” Thursday, Aug. 31 at 2:30 p.m. at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, 2401 12th Street NW in Albuquerque.
The hearing will examine the decline in Native American languages. Chairman Rep. Howard P. “Buck” McKeon, (R-CA) will be joined in leading the committee by Rep. Heather Wilson (R-NM). Also serving on the committee are Rep. Tom Udall (D-NM) and Rep. Tom Petri (R-WI).
Sims teaches in the Department of Language, Literature and Sociocultural Studies and is from the Pueblo of Acoma. Her work at UNM emphasizes the importance of teaching Native language as an essential part of the education of American Indian children.
This hearing will examine the decline in Native American languages. The committee also will explore Native American language immersion programs as a solution to language preservation and will review the Native American Languages Preservation Act, legislation introduced by Rep. Wilson in February 2006 to secure the preservation of Native American languages.
Across the country, Native American languages are in rapid decline. It is estimated that only twenty indigenous languages will remain viable by the year 2050. As a result of the rapid deterioration of Native languages, Native communities across the country have made language recovery and preservation one of their highest priorities.
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