The Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians in Oregon are working to preserve their language for future generations.

The language is known as Siletz Dee-ni. Only a few fluent speakers remain but its future looks a lot brighter thanks to the efforts of tribal members like Bud Lane, 54.

“They told us our language was moribund and heading off a cliff,” Lane told The New York Times.

Lane has been working on the Siletz Dee-ni Talking Dictionary for nearly seven years, the Times reported. The site offers tribal members and others a way to learn how to speak the language.

Siletz Dee-ni is related to Athabaskan languages like Navajo and Apache and others spoken in Alaska and Canada.

Get the Story:
Tribe Revives Language on Verge of Extinction (The New York Times 8/4)