From the beginning of the colonization of the United States, indigenous languages have been steadily going extinct. This has led younger generations to feel disconnected from who they are, leading them to have the highest dropout rates among all ethnic groups in the United States, (between 29% and 36% (Native Hope, 2024)) as well as leading them to be six times more likely to want to die by suicide (Flannery). In this report, I address the pitfalls and successes of immersion and K-12 schools in the United States and their effects on these students' sense of belonging in education. All in all, this is to answer the question: How does the education system and its attitude towards indigenous languages in the classroom impact the social identity of indigenous communities whose cultures are being erased? I examined undergraduate research journals and their sources along with educators' research on their roles in language revitalization. This poster presents recommendations to aid current immersion programs and K-12 schools as they combat language extinction and create better educational experiences for indigenous students.
