Title 25, IndiansRelease 119-102

§2903 Declaration of Policy

Title 25 › CHAPTER 31 — NATIVE AMERICAN LANGUAGES › § 2903

Last updated Aug 21, 2026|Official source

Summary

The law says the United States must keep, defend, and encourage the use and growth of Native American languages. It lets federal programs make exceptions to teacher certification rules when those rules stop qualified Native language teachers from being hired, and asks states and territories to consider similar exceptions. It also pushes for using Native languages to teach students so the languages survive and so students do better in school, learn about their culture and history, and feel pride. Local and state schools should work with Native parents, teachers, tribes, and tribal governments to carry out these goals. The law recognizes tribes’ right to use their languages in schools paid for by the Secretary of the Interior and to give official status to their languages for doing business. It supports giving Native language courses the same college and school credit as foreign languages and urges schools at all levels to teach them.

Full Legal Text

Title 25, §2903

Indians, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

It is the policy of the United States to—

(1)preserve, protect, and promote the rights and freedom of Native Americans to use, practice, and develop Native American languages;

(2)allow exceptions to teacher certification requirements for Federal programs, and programs funded in whole or in part by the Federal Government, for instruction in Native American languages when such teacher certification requirements hinder the employment of qualified teachers who teach in Native American languages, and to encourage State and territorial governments to make similar exceptions;

(3)encourage and support the use of Native American languages as a medium of instruction in order to encourage and support—

(A)Native American language survival,

(B)educational opportunity,

(C)increased student success and performance,

(D)increased student awareness and knowledge of their culture and history, and

(E)increased student and community pride;

(4)encourage State and local education programs to work with Native American parents, educators, Indian tribes, and other Native American governing bodies in the implementation of programs to put this policy into effect;

(5)recognize the right of Indian tribes and other Native American governing bodies to use the Native American languages as a medium of instruction in all schools funded by the Secretary of the Interior;

(6)fully recognize the inherent right of Indian tribes and other Native American governing bodies, States, territories, and possessions of the United States to take action on, and give official status to, their Native American languages for the purpose of conducting their own business;

(7)support the granting of comparable proficiency achieved through course work in a Native American language the same academic credit as comparable proficiency achieved through course work in a foreign language, with recognition of such Native American language proficiency by institutions of higher education as fulfilling foreign language entrance or degree requirements; and

(8)encourage all institutions of elementary, secondary and higher education, where appropriate, to include Native American languages in the curriculum in the same manner as foreign languages and to grant proficiency in Native American languages the same full academic credit as proficiency in foreign languages.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

25 U.S.C. § 2903

Title 25, Indians

Last Updated

Aug 21, 2026

Release point: 119-102