The House approved a bill by voice vote on Sept. 27 that would add new kinds of Native American language programs to the list of those that can receive grants under the Native American Programs Act, which is administered by the Department of Health and Human Services.
In fiscal 2006, about $5 million went to American Indian language schools through the department’s program, according to Joel Hannahs, the press secretary for Rep. Heather Wilson, R-N.M., who sponsored the bill.
One of the kinds of language schools added to the list is Native American language “nests,” in which an organization provides instruction and child care that incorporates American Indian language teaching.
Native American survival schools, defined as schools that provide an average of 500 hours of instruction in a Native American language per child and aim to teach fluency in the language, are also on the expanded list.
