Indigenous Policy Journal Vol. XXIII, No. 1 (Summer 2012) Ramswell: Ayali 1 Ayali 1 : Is it Time to Say Good-bye to American Indian Languages? By Prebble Q Ramswell The University of Southern Mississippi International Development Doctoral Program 118 College Drive #5108 Hattiesburg, MS 39406-0001 703-628-5699 Prebble.Ramswell@eagles.usm.edu This article examines American Indian languages in North, Central and South America to determine how the numbers of native speakers have changed over the course of the last century. Historical research and interviews with American Indian linguists and historians indicate that nearly all American Indian languages in the United States are in danger of becoming extinct within the next forty years. Three languages are examined more closely to develop a better sense of the extent of the language loss: Chickasaw, Shawnee, and Navajo. Probable causal factors contributing to the language loss are also discussed including policies of assimilation and stigmatization, modernization, the increased necessity of English, and destruction of the American Indian’s native cultural and environmental habitat. The article also includes a survey of methods currently being used in language revitalization efforts and the ensuing stabilization or even increase in speakers that is possible from such efforts. In conclusion, this article discusses the inevitability of further language extinction and the necessity of continued and increased revitalization efforts to prevent additional loss. Introduction Language is as important to a culture as its history. This is especially true in American Indian societies. According to the Chickasaw Nation, Chickasaws believe that their language was given to them by Chihoowa (God), and it is their obligation to care for it: to learn it, speak it and teach it to their children; it is a gift from the ancestors for all Chickasaw people. So, how did this prized gift from God reach the point of teetering on extinction? Before the North American continent was settled by the Europeans, it is estimated that there were approximately 2000 2 different American Indian languages (Columbia University, 2007). Of these 1 Ayali is ―Goodbye‖ in Chickasaw (Munro, 1994)