Enduring Voices Project, Endangered Languages Facts, Photos, Map -- National Geographic

I found this one interesting:

"Oklahoma boasts the highest density of indigenous languages in the United States. This hotspot includes languages originally spoken in the region, as well as those of tribes from farther east that were forcibly relocated onto reservations here.

One language of this area, Yuchi, may be unrelated to any other. The U.S. government drove the Yuchi from Tennessee to Oklahoma in the early 1800s. Until the early 20th century, most Yuchi tribe members spoke the language fluently. After that, government boarding schools severely punished American Indian students heard speaking their own language. To avoid beatings and other punishments, Yuchi children abandoned their parent's language in favor of English. In 2005, only five elderly members of the Yuchi tribe were fluent in the language. These remaining speakers spoke Yuchi fluently before they went to school and have maintained the language despite strong pressure to abandon it."

Enduring Voices Project, Endangered Languages Facts, Photos, Map -- National Geographic

VIA: Neatorama