California Indians are working with linguists at the University of California-Berkeley to revive their Native languages.

About 50 tribal members are learning to read, write and speak languages, some of which haven't been used in decades and are considered "dead."

Mike Lincoln, one of the participants, is from the Round Valley Reservation in northern California. He is working to revive the language of the Nomelaki Tribe. "(The U.S. government) took it away from us," he told The Contra Costa Times. "They didn't let us have it. It's part of our culture. Without it, you're lost."

Get the Story:
Berkeley students work to preserve lost Native American languages (The Contra Costa Times 7/11)

Relevant Links:
Berkeley Linguistics - http://www.linguistics.berkeley.edu