This was the homepage of the New York Times earlier today pic.twitter.com/WUXapPBF9R

— indianz.com (@indianz) April 13, 2014

The Yurok Tribe of California is creating a new generation of Yurok language speakers with the help of local schools.

In the 1990s, only six elders could speak the language fluently. Now it is being taught in four high schools and two elementary schools, including one that offers a Yurok immersion program.

The effort has paid off. As of last year, 17 people are considered fluent and more than 300 can converse in the language, according to the Yurok Language Project.

“We need more fluent speakers,” 15-year-old student Tenayah Norris, who is taking Yurok at her high school, told The New York Times. “We’re getting more, which would be nice to speed up.”

Get the Story:
In California, Saving a Language That Predates Spanish and English (The New York Times 4/13)

Related Stories:
BBC News: Yurok Tribe sees success with language efforts (6/26)
Yurok Tribe seeing success with language revitalization effort (2/7)