This passage is based on an article published in 1996.

Of the 300 indigenous languages spoken when European explorers reached what is now the United States, fewer than 150 survive today. Of these, one third are near extinction, with fewer than 100 surviving speakers. The decline of many of these languages is due in large part to misguided U.S. government policies: between the 1930s and the 1960s, the U.S. mandated the teaching of English to all Native Americans, an effort that in practice discouraged the transmission of native languages. Yet despite the residual effects of this effort, there has recently been a resurgence in native language study and preservation efforts. More universities are offering language curricula developed by Native American scholars, and fluent speakers of native languages are being recorded on film and tape. At the same time, many indigenous communities are establishing radio stations that broadcast in native languages.

Because of the strong oral traditions of indigenous cultures, radio is a particularly effective tool for preserving native languages. It provides a natural and widely accessible means for the diffusion of native languages. In fact, some communities have consciously founded native language radio stations as a means of simultaneously promoting their languages and keeping community members apprised of important issues. These radio stations have also helped solidify communities, as older people have taken an interest in rekindling the use of their languages and in helping younger generations understand idiomatic usage.

However, the growth of Internet use in many native communities could counter the influence of radio. In order to use this international computer network, many community members often find that they must devote considerable energy to mastering a standard language—generally English. Communities with radio stations have at their disposal a means to combat this trend, but the mere presentation of native language programming is not enough. For radio programming to be effective in countering the potentially deleterious linguistic effects of the Internet, it should resonate with the living oral traditions of indigenous communities.

One analyst noted recently that in native communities where English is a second language—i.e., spoken less frequently than a native language—there is an abundance of such programming, but where English is the primary language, what native language programming there is often takes the form of lessons, which can be unengaging and distant from the cultural contexts that give necessary and subtle meaning to the words. By contrast, effective programming should include things like recordings of elders speaking the native language, word games that mix English and native languages, and speeches by fluent speakers. There is evidence that this along with lessons printed in the local newspaper has had success at revitalizing native languages in some communities. Similarly, integrating traditional songs into the presentation of a native language makes it easier for novice speakers to grasp the language by familiarizing them with its rhythms.