Interior hosts forum on Native languages and education

Tribal leaders, educators and students gathered at the U.S. Department of the Interior this week to share Native language revitalization efforts and early results from federally funded school programs. The forum highlighted more than $12.5 million in funding for 17 Bureau of Indian Education-funded schools and previewed a national summit set for Oct. 6 in Buffalo.

Why it matters: - Native language programs are tied to student engagement, attendance and academic performance in schools serving Native students. - Federal support is helping tribes and schools expand language immersion, curriculum development and early childhood language instruction. - Leaders framed language revitalization as both an education issue and a community identity issue.

What happened: - Tribal leaders, school administrators, language teachers and students gathered at the U.S. Department of the Interior this week for the Forum on Native Languages and Education. - The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs and the National Fund for Excellence in American Indian Education organized the full-day convening. - Presenters came from tribal nations, Bureau of Indian Education-funded schools, tribal colleges and Native language organizations. - Sessions focused on language and technology, tribal language programming, Office of Indian Economic Development Living Languages Grant Program grantees and grantees of the Native Language Program operated by the BIE with the National Fund.

The details: - Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Billy Kirkland said Native languages are a foundation of Native identity and communities. - Kirkland said the Trump administration is supporting tribes with resources and flexibility to lead language revitalization in their own communities. - More than $12.5 million in Native Language federal funding has been made available to 17 BIE-funded schools. - The funding is meant to expand Native language programs, instruction and immersion programming. - The schools also receive specialists in language curriculum development, instructional materials design, program evaluation and early childhood immersion methods. - Heath Clayton, lead executive officer of the National Fund for Excellence in American Indian Education, said language is part of student success and the goal is to get resources to the people doing the work. - Turtle Mountain Community High School in Belcourt, North Dakota, said Anishinaabemowin, the Ojibwe language, is now taught across five class periods each day. - Turtle Mountain also has an after-school language club open to any student. - Cindy Keplin, assistant principal at Turtle Mountain Community High School, said students show up differently when their language is part of the school day. - In a survey of language program participants, 67% showed improved daily attendance. - Attendance gains reached as high as 8.6 percentage points. - 58% improved their grade point average. - GPA gains ranged from 0.04 to 0.62 points. - Turtle Mountain reported 511 language-eligible students took part in Anishinaabemowin activities in the January through March 2026 quarter. - Santa Fe Indian School described a program serving students from more than 23 Native language communities across six languages. - The Santa Fe program is built around Pueblo language teachers and a shared Native Language Philosophy developed with participants from seven Pueblos. - The forum also previewed the National Native Language Summit. - The National Fund and the National Indian Education Association will convene the summit on Oct. 6 in Buffalo, New York. - The summit will bring together educators, students, researchers and language advocates from across Indian Country.

Between the lines: - The forum was as much a showcase for program outcomes as a policy event. - The attendance and GPA results suggest language programs are being evaluated through student outcomes, not only cultural preservation. - The emphasis on community-led instruction points to a broader push for tribal control over education programming.

What's next: - Tribes, educators and advocates will head toward the Oct. 6 Native language summit in Buffalo. - Schools and grant recipients are likely to continue using the forum to share program models and outcomes. - Interior officials and the National Fund are positioning Native language funding as an ongoing part of BIE school support.

The bottom line: - Interior is betting that Native language revitalization can strengthen both cultural continuity and student success.