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From https://edsource.org/2016/preserving-native-american-languages-by-teaching-the-youngest-students/565007

Preserving Native American languages by teaching the youngest students
By Susan Frey
June 6, 2016

Slightly less than 2 percent of the children enrolled in 2015 in Native American Head Start programs in Region XI, which includes California, spoke a primary home language that was a native language – down from 8 percent of enrolled children in 2001 – according to a March 2015 memorandum from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services regarding native language preservation and revitalization in Head Start programs.

Although language policies have changed, Head Start teachers and program directors have run into a number of obstacles in implementing the new approach, including a dearth of native speakers, government regulations and the complexity of some of the languages.

…California has taken an innovative approach to this issue by creating a specialized teaching credential for American Indian culture. The tribe determines the qualifications for the teacher and then recommends people who meet the criteria to the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing, which issues the credential. The credential is valid in state preschools and K-12 public schools, but not in the federal Native American Head Start program – the only public preschool program primarily for Indian children.

Read the full article at https://edsource.org/2016/preserving-native-american-languages-by-teaching-the-youngest-students/565007