Durbin Feeling Native American Languages Act
The main purpose of the Durbin Feeling Native American Languages Act of 2022 (01/05/2023) is to “improve interagency coordination for purposes of supporting revitalization, maintenance, and use of Native American languages.” Congress charges the Administration for Native Americans with the responsibility of outlining the status of the vitality of Native American languages through a national survey and preparing a Presidential report to Congress with policy recommendations.
Report to Congress on Design Options, Priorities, and Considerations for a National Native Languages Survey and the Proposed Native Languages Survey
The proposed Survey of Native American Languages and associated plan follows a learning-oriented approach, a process that will build relationships and trust between the federal government and Tribal Nations and Native American language communities, expand knowledge about federal efforts underway, and refine survey content and approaches over time. It also reflects ACF’s Roadmap for Collaborative and Effective Evaluation in Tribal Communities.
- Report to Congress on Design Options, Priorities, and Considerations for a National Native Languages Survey (PDF)
- Proposed Native Languages Survey (PDF)
Breaking Barriers, Building Nations
This session was recorded during the 2023 ANA Conference featuring Facilitator Michelle Sauve, acting Deputy Commissioner for ANA, Durbin Feeling Language Center Executive Director Howard Paden, ANA Communications Specialist Jami Murphy.
Who was Durbin Feeling?
Durbin Feeling, a Cherokee linguist, wrote the first-ever Cherokee-English dictionary back in 1975. The Cherokee Nation holds him in high regard as one of the most influential figures in preserving the Cherokee language, since Sequoyah.
History of the Act
On April 28, 2021, Senator Brian Schatz of Hawai’i introduced S. 1402, the Durbin Feeling Act, for the purpose of ensuring “the survival and continuing vitality of Native American languages by amending the Native American Languages Act (NALA).” The NALA set out “the responsibility of the United States to act together with Native American communities to ensure the survival of their language” and undertake the work necessary to “support Native American community-led initiatives to maintain and revitalize these communities' languages.”
On January 5, 2023, the Durbin Feeling Native American Languages Act became law. The purpose of this legislation is to support Native American language reclamation efforts, reduce bureaucratic inefficiencies and duplications that impede these efforts, , and also to assess the status of the vitality of Native American languages.
The law requires implementation of these actions in consultation with Indian tribes, traditional leaders, and representatives of Native American language communities, including Native Hawaiian and Pacific Island communities.
In addition, within 1 year, the President must send a report to Congress with the recommendations of the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, and the Secretary of Education, for amendments to federal laws that are needed to bring the federal laws into compliance with the Native American Languages Act of 1990 and recommendations to reduce duplication, inefficiencies, and barriers that Native American language communities face in accessing federal programs to support efforts to revitalize, maintain, or increase the use of Native American languages.
Purpose of Legislation
- Send recommendations to Congress to improve federal agency support for revitalization, maintenance, and use of Native languages.
- Develop and conduct a survey on Native American Language vitality.
- Form partnerships and consultation for the survey development and implementation — ANA may work with any federal partners and contractors that work with Native languages.
- Conduct the survey in consultation with Indian tribes and Native American language speakers and experts.
Language Survey Requirements
The survey must include the following elements:
- Information on which Native American languages are currently spoken.
- Estimates of the number of speakers of each Native American language.
- Any language usage statistics or information that the Secretary of HHS, in consultation with Indian tribes and Native American language speakers and experts, determines to be relevant and appropriate.
- Information on the types of Native American language maintenance and revitalization projects and practices that are currently being carried out.
- Information on any unmet Native American language resources needs of Indian tribes and Native American language communities.
Any other information that the Secretary of HHS, in consultation with Indian tribes and Native American language speakers and experts, determines to be necessary.
Potential Benefits
- The survey will collect useful data that Tribes, Native communities, and other Indigenous language stakeholders can use to make decisions about strategic actions to maintain and revitalize the status of their Native languages.
- Certain data will be public and can be used for community needs and wants.
- The survey results will be shared with Congress and may inform key policies that can better support Tribes, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders on their language reclamation efforts.
Community Work Group
A Community Work Group (CWG) comprised of experts in Native languages is working collaboratively with federal and survey design partners to ensure Native voices are at the forefront of this effort. The CWG is providing information and input on survey development and plans for engaging communities and the design and distribution of the survey.
Tribal Consultation and Community Engagement
Community Partner Outreach: 12 total events reaching approximately 1500 tribal leaders, national Native organizations and their members, and Native language program and project staff funded by Health and Human Services, Department of Education, and Department of Interior. Outreach events provided information about the purpose of the legislation and how to provide input.
Tribal Consultation Sessions: HHS representatives participated in 15 different Tribal Consultation sessions during 2023 where they sought input specific to the Durbin Feeling Native American Languages Act and/or Native language priorities.
Listening Sessions: ANA initiated 5 listening sessions to get input on the National Native Languages Survey.
- Native Hawaiian community June 2023
- Alaska community August 2023
- Tribal Colleges and Universities and other Institutions of Higher Education: October 2023
- National Indian Education Association October 18, 2023
- ACF Tribal Advisory Committee October 2023
Please send your comments, recommendations, and responses, along with your name and community association via email to: [email protected]