Drawing on the work of Philip Deloria (2004) and recent explorations of "American Indian languages in unexpected places" (Webster & Peterson, 2011a), this article challenges received expectations of Native American languages and language users as "rural" and physically distant and of "urban" Indigenous language…

Comprehensive in scope and rich in detail, this book explores language planning, language education, and language policy for diverse Native American peoples across time, space, and place. Based on longterm collaborative and ethnographic work with Native American communities and schools, the book examines the imposition of colonial language…

In Native American communities, the "global here and now" (Appadurai, 2001) is linked to twin movements for standardization and English supremacy, resulting in the decline of Indigenous languages and persistent educational disparities. This article takes up Appadurai's call to democratize research on globalization, juxtaposing theories that…

This article examines research on the impacts of high-stakes accountability policies in the USA--in particular, the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001--on Native American learners. NCLB's goals are laudable: close the achievement gap by making schools accountable for learning among all student groups, and by ensuring that all students are…

This article examines current efforts to revitalise, stabilise, and maintain Indigenous languages in the USA. Most Native American languages are no longer acquired as a first language by children. They are nonetheless languages of identity and heritage, and in this sense can and should be considered mother tongues. The article begins with a…

This article offers a grounded view of language shift as experienced by Native American youth across a range of early- to late-shift settings. Drawing on data from a long-term ethnographic study, we demonstrate that the linguistic ecologies in which youth language choices play out are more complex than a unidirectional notion of shift might…

Focuses on bilingual education programs in Indian schools and communities in the southwestern United States. A social-historical analysis of bilingual education policy is presented, with findings from research on bilingual education. (59 references) (CK)

Critical historical analysis of the apparently contradictory policies and practices within American Indian education reveals a patterned response to cultural and linguistic diversity, as the federal government has attempted to distinguish "safe" from "dangerous" Indian practices. (SLD)

Discusses the 13 papers in this special issue on American Indian and Alaska Native language education and literacy, the object of which is to critically examine the relationship of pedagogical change to larger sociopolitical and cultural processes affecting native language, bilingual, and bicultural programs. (three references) (MDM)

Provides an overview of indigenous-education programs in the United States, including Alaska and Hawaii. Discussion focuses on the historical context that has seen consistent attempts to eradicate the languages and life ways of Native Americans. Case studies are presented that illustrate the role of indigenous-language-education programs in…

This paper examines preliminary findings from an ongoing federally funded study of Native language shift and retention in the US Southwest, focusing on in-depth ethnographic interviews with Navajo youth. We begin with an overview of Native American linguistic ecologies, noting the dynamic, variegated and complex nature of language proficiencies…

In this article, the authors explore the personal, familial, and academic stakes of Native language loss for youth, drawing on narrative data from the Native Language Shift and Retention Project, a five year (2001-06), federally funded study of the nature and impacts of Native language shift and retention on American Indian students' language…