John Teller, the chairman of the Menominee Nation of Wisconsin, says only 12 people are fluent in the tribe's language.

Another 100 are near-fluent thanks to language revitalization efforts, he said. But the language runs the risk of disappearing without more speakers.

“It is a very sad occasion to realise that the last of the native speakers will all be gone in ten years or so," Teller told The Royal Gazette. "But I think we have done a good enough job that the language will go on. Older people come in and act as a resource.

Teller is in Bermuda this week to talk about indigenous issues.

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Menominee spoken here (The Royal Gazette 4/18)