American Indian Culture and Research Journal

More than 400 years of contact and concomitant linguistic colonialism has forced the great majority of Native American languages of the Northeast into extinction. Though many distinct Native American communities have disappeared, vestiges of their languages still exist in the usual and expected places—place names and historical documents. The few remaining languages continue to resist colonial domination and projected extinction by the end of the twenty-first century. Despite centuries of linguistic colonialism and trajectories toward “language death,” contemporary Native American language advocates are engaged in innovative revitalization and reclamation programs that repurpose historical documents to promote unexpected forms of “language life” and new forms of linguistic sovereignty. This essay traces shifts in language ideologies from colonial linguistic imperialism and the extinction of Native American languages to Native American linguistic repatriation, the promise of language life, and emerging forms of linguistic sovereignty. Key developments between language experts and Native American language advocates are identified as they offer insights into the unexpected domains of Native American language life.