Language Planning Considerations in Indigenous Communities

Federally-funded bilingual programs for American Indian/Alaska Native students are addressesed from a language planning perspective. The discussion identifies three language policy types—endoglossic (community-oriented), exoglossic (externally-oriented), and mixed policies—and their relationship to American Indian/Alaska Native bilingual education. Federally-funded bilingual education represents an exoglossic policy for indigenous communities and as such, can lead to language loss. The recommendation here is that indigenous communities begin now to develop endoglossic policies that will reinforce past efforts in bilingual education while simultaneously stabilizing community heritage languages.