Albuquerque, New Mexico (AP)

The chairman of the U.S. House Education and Workforce Committee has warned educators and members of the American Indian community that only 20 Indigenous languages are expected to remain viable over the next four decades.

To lose these languages is to lose a significant piece of American history, Rep. Howard “Buck” McKeon, R-Calif., said during the hearing that highlighted the decline of Indian languages and efforts to reverse the trend.

“As a result of this rapid decline, some communities across the country have made language recovery and preservation one of their highest priorities,” he said.

Rep. Heather Wilson, R-N.M., hosted the August 31 hearing. She is sponsoring legislation – the Native American Languages Preservation Act – that would establish grants for Indian language educational organizations, colleges, governments and groups that work to preserve Native cultures and languages through immersion programs.

Wilson said Native languages, once lost, can never be recovered.

“Native languages are part of our rich heritage as New Mexicans,” she said.

Amadeo Shije, chairman of the All Indian Pueblos Council in Albuquerque, said access to education through immersion programs can help preserve Indian culture.

“For the 19 pueblos (of New Mexico), the link between education, language and culture is fundamental and cannot be stressed enough as we preserve to maintain our identities,” Shije said.

Ryan Wilson, president of the National Indian Education Association, told committee members that Indians continue to use their native languages for ceremonies, prayers, stories and sons.

“Our languages connect us to our ancestors, our traditional ways of life and our histories. For us, the survival of our cultures and identities is inextricably linked to the survival of our languages,” he said. “If our languages die, then it is inevitable that our cultures will die next.”

Christine Sims, professor of language literacy at the University of New Mexico, told the committee there is a growing number of community-based education systems that are helping recover Native languages.

She pointed to New Mexico, where statutory laws support the establishment of heritage language programs as a new category of state-funded bilingual programs. She added that tribes also are developing their own processes for certifying tribal members as language instructors in the public schools.