Tuesday, August 4, 2026 — When is it OK to let a Native language die?

The Osage language was declared dead in 2005 after its last fluent speaker died. But revitalization efforts since then have built the number of proficient speakers to about 40. The Caddo Nation continues its extensive language revitalization efforts more than a year after its last fluent speaker walked on. It’s an uphill battle for most tribe in the U.S. to retain their language. The new book, “How to Kill a Language: Power, Resistance, and the Race to Save Our Words,” examines the global crisis of cultures losing their languages. In a New Yorker review of the book, philosophy instructor Nikhil Krishnan uses the book’s premise to argue that the death of a language is sometimes “just how things go.” That touched off strong opposition from the language advocacy organization, The Endangered Languages Project. They and other organizations say such fatalistic thinking promotes misleading and harmful narratives and undermines efforts to preserve languages globally. We’ll hear from Indigenous language advocates who argue no expense should be spared to revive languages before we lose them.