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The National Indian Gaming Association (NIGA) and the Indigenous Languages Institute will host a symposium on Native American languages on February 23, 2001 from 9:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. to discuss efforts to save Native American languages. The symposium will take place at the Russell Senate Office Building, room 485, Washington, DC.

The symposium, 'Looking Toward the 7th Generation - Saving Our Native Languages", will bring together experts on Native languages such as Dr. Ophelia Zepeda, a Tohono O’Odham Linguist and Professor at the University of Arizona, and Dr. Samuel Billison, a Navajo Code Talker during World War II who is the President of the Navajo Code Talkers Association. The Navajo Code Talker action figure was modeled after Dr. Billison with his voice recording actual codes in the Navajo language.

In addition to Dr. Zepeda and Dr. Billison, the Symposium will feature language experts from the Shakopee Mdewankanton Sioux Community, Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe and Pueblo of Isleta who will discuss how their language programs are to preserve and revitalize their cultures.

The event is being organized to draw national attention to the critical need to preserve and protect Native languages and, therefore, Native cultures.

Rick Hill, Chairman of the National Indian Gaming Association, emphasizes that many gaming tribes use revenues from Indian gaming to create and sustain innovative Native language programs. These program are slowly helping to counter the ill effects of almost a century of attack. In the earlier part of the 20th century, he notes, Indian children were forced to live at boarding schools where they were punished for speaking their own languages. "Today", Hill continues, "Native people are again under attack, this time by the English-Only Movement."

Gerald Hill, Chairman of the Indigenous Languages Institute which is co-sponsoring the Symposium, points out that approximately 100 Native languages are spoken in the United States today. About 40 of those languages are threatened and 60 are endangered. Hill, who encourages Native tribes to use their own languages at every available opportunity, emphasizes that when a tribe loses its language, it leads to a loss of culture, identity and sovereignty.

"The driving force behind this Symposium is to issue a challenge to the present generation not to let this happen", says Hill.

The symposium is open to all interested parties, but due to seating restrictions we will only be able to accommodate the first 50 people. For more information conatact, Janelle Brown, phone 202-546-7711.