There is no single “Native American language”. Instead, there are hundreds of distinct Native American languages, each representing its own worldview, identity, and cultural legacy. These languages are not relics of the past, but living expressions of resilience, creativity, and community that continue to shape the United States today.
While Indigenous peoples across North and South America speak a vast range of languages, this guide focuses on those spoken within the United States; languages that have survived colonization, forced assimilation, and generations of systemic suppression. From the Arctic to the Southeast, every language carries stories, songs, and traditions that connect Native Nations to their ancestors and homelands.
In the sections that follow, we’ll explore how many Native American languages exist, which are most widely spoken, and how communities are leading powerful movements to ensure these voices endure. Native speakers across the country are ensuring that the languages of their ancestors continue to thrive for generations to come.
The Rich Diversity of Indigenous Languages
When people ask what language Native American Indians speak, the answer is far more complex than a single name or dialect. Across the United States, Native peoples speak hundreds of distinct languages, each with unique grammar, pronunciation, and cultural meaning. These languages are grouped into broad families; much like how European languages such as Spanish, French, and Italian belong to the Romance family, while English and German belong to the Germanic family.
In a similar way, the Native American languages of North America include major linguistic families such as Algonquian, Siouan, Athabaskan, Uto-Aztecan, Iroquoian, and Muskogean, among many others. Each family represents numerous individual languages, often unintelligible to one another, reflecting the incredible diversity that existed across the continent long before European contact.
This linguistic variety shows how deeply Native cultures are tied to place, history, and identity. Every language tells a different story about the land and the people who have lived upon it for thousands of years.
How Many Native American Languages Are There?
Today, linguists estimate that there were once over 300 Native American languages spoken across what is now the United States. Each language reflects the identity of a specific tribe, region, or community. Even within a single language, dialects can differ between territories or clans; much like how people in the southern, northern, or western United States speak different varieties of English.
However, many of these languages have declined over the past two centuries due to federal policies that sought to suppress Indigenous cultures. During the boarding school era, Native children were taken from their families and punished for speaking their languages. Earlier government acts promoting forced assimilation banned Native languages in schools and public life, erasing generations of speakers.
Despite these attempts, Native communities have never stopped fighting for their languages. Through local immersion schools, intergenerational teaching, and cultural programs, tribes are reclaiming their voices and restoring what colonization tried to silence. The survival of Native American languages today stands as a powerful act of resilience and cultural pride.
The Most Spoken Native American Languages Today
According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2017–2021 American Community Survey (ACS), several Indigenous languages continue to be spoken by thousands across the United States. While some have only a few remaining fluent speakers, others have maintained strong speaking communities through education and cultural preservation efforts.
Below are the five most spoken Native American languages in the country today:
- Navajo (Diné Bizaad): With over 161,000 speakers, Navajo is by far the most spoken Native language in the United States.
- Cherokee (Tsalagi): Spoken by approximately 10,440 people, Cherokee has active revitalization programs supported by tribal and community efforts.
- Zuni (Shiwi’ma): Spoken by around 8,100 people, Zuni remains strong within the Zuni Pueblo community in New Mexico.
- Choctaw (Chahta’): About 7,260 people speak Choctaw, with ongoing programs helping preserve the language across Oklahoma and Mississippi.
- Hopi (Hopílavayi): Spoken by roughly 7,100 people, Hopi continues to thrive among multigenerational speakers on the Hopi mesas of northeastern Arizona.
Some languages are more widely spoken today because of geographic and historical factors. Tribes in the Southwest, such as the Navajo and Hopi, retained more of their language due to later contact with European settlers, while many East Coast languages declined earlier due to colonization and displacement. The number of enrolled tribal members and access to educational resources also play a significant role in language preservation.
This list does not represent every Indigenous language still in use. Hundreds of Native American languages are spoken by smaller communities across the country; each carrying stories, knowledge, and traditions vital to the cultural fabric of Native Nations.
How Do You Say “Hello” in a Native American Language?
There is no single way to say “hello” in Native American languages, because there is no single Native American language. Each tribe has its own words, sounds, and expressions for greeting one another, shaped by its culture, worldview, and environment. Understanding this diversity is the first step toward appreciating the depth and richness of Indigenous languages across the United States.
Below are a few examples that reflect just a small portion of this linguistic variety:
- Yá’át’ééh (Navajo): A common greeting in Diné Bizaad that conveys well-being and harmony.
- Osiyo (Cherokee): A warm, everyday greeting that means both “hello” and “welcome.”
- Háu (Lakota, used by men) / Háŋ (Lakota, used by women): Traditional greetings that honor respect and identity within the Lakota language.
These phrases are not meant as tourist expressions, but as a way to recognize and honor the individuality of each language. Every greeting carries history, connection, and cultural meaning. Learning even a single word is an act of respect toward the people and traditions that continue to keep these languages alive.
Why Language Is More Than Words: A Pillar of Culture and Identity
Language is far more than a means of communication; it is the vessel that carries culture, ceremony, and collective memory. Through words, songs, and stories, Native Nations pass down their worldview, values, and connection to the land. When a language is lost, an entire way of understanding the world fades with it.
At Running Strong for American Indian Youth®, we understand that preserving a language is about preserving an entire culture. Each word holds generations of knowledge, humor, and resilience. Through our Native American Culture & Language Preservation Programs, we work alongside communities to keep these voices strong.
Our initiatives support immersion classes, cultural events, and mentorship for youth learning their ancestral languages. By empowering Native speakers and teachers, we help ensure that these languages remain living, evolving parts of daily life, strengthening both cultural pride and community identity for generations to come.
Spotlight on Revitalization: How Communities Are Bringing Their Languages Home
Across Indian Country, Native communities are leading powerful movements to reclaim and restore their ancestral languages. These revitalization efforts go beyond education; they are acts of cultural renewal that reconnect generations, rebuild identity, and ensure that Indigenous voices continue to thrive.
The Yuchi Language Project: Saving a Unique Linguistic Isolate
For nearly 30 years, the Yuchi Language Project (YLP) in Sapulpa, Oklahoma, has worked to ensure the survival of the Yuchi language, an isolate with no known connection to any other. With support from Running Strong for American Indian Youth®, the program’s mission is simple and powerful: to create new young speakers through breath-to-breath immersion between elders and children.
At the Yuchi Immersion School, students learn every subject in Yuchi: science, math, art, literacy, and physical education, integrating language and culture into daily life. The goal is to raise a new generation fluent enough to lead ceremonies, offer prayers, and carry forward the Yuchi worldview.
The program’s “landbase” in Glenpool, Oklahoma, provides the setting for this renewal. Its yadaga (Yuchi Log House) is a gathering space where children, families, and elders reconnect with traditional knowledge through stories, ceremonies, and land-based practices.
Through this work, the Yuchi Language Project is doing more than preserving words; it is restoring identity, culture, and community. Guided by its motto, “yUdjEhanAnô sôKAnAnô” — “We, Yuchi people, we are still here,” the Yuchi Nation continues to prove that language is life.
From the Garden to the Grocery: Making the Cherokee Language Visible
The Tsalagi language signs in a Walmart is a groundbreaking example of how Indigenous languages can live and thrive in modern spaces. Led by a young Cherokee language advocate, this initiative brought the Cherokee language (Tsalagi Gawonihisdi) into everyday life by labeling produce in a Tahlequah, Oklahoma Walmart entirely in Cherokee.
With support from Running Strong for American Indian Youth®, the Cherokee Nation Foundation, and Walmart’s Tribal Voices team, the project began by translating produce names with fluent speakers from the Cherokee Nation Language Program. From apples to oranges, every translation session became a living classroom filled with laughter, learning, and cultural pride.
The goal of the project is not just visibility but accessibility. The Cherokee language is displayed in three levels of literacy so that learners of all backgrounds can engage with it:
- Community Level: For speakers who recognize words by sound but may not read the written language.
- Phonetic Level: For learners who understand Cherokee pronunciation but not yet the written syllabary.
- Syllabary Level: For fluent readers who connect each sound to its Cherokee character, as Sequoyah envisioned.
By placing these three forms side by side, the project connects generations of speakers and learners, allowing each person to engage with the language at their own level. What began as a dream became a symbol of cultural pride; a reminder that Indigenous languages belong not only in classrooms but in the heart of everyday life.
Building a New Generation of Speakers: The Catawba Language Project
The Catawba Language Project, led by Dreamstarter DeLesslin “Roo” George-Warren (Catawba), is bringing a once-endangered language back to life for future generations. As the Special Projects Coordinator for the Catawba Cultural Preservation Project, Roo’s mission is to raise the first generation of young Catawba speakers since the late 1800s and make fluency accessible to the entire Catawba community.
With support from Running Strong for American Indian Youth®, the project received a $25,000 grant to develop foundational tools, including lesson plans, curricula, and a comprehensive Catawba dictionary. These resources are essential for training teachers, hosting community workshops, and creating materials such as books, toys, and signage that make the language a visible part of daily life.
A major focus of the project is teaching children through music. In Catawba early childhood programs, songs like “The Number Song” and “The Good Morning Song” are helping children absorb vocabulary naturally through play and repetition. These songs also teach values like yemą, meaning “family,” reinforcing strength and unity within the Catawba community.
The Catawba Nation, a federally recognized tribe of about 3,400 citizens in the Carolinas, has embraced the project as part of its broader cultural revival. Roo describes the effort as coming full circle from his original Dreamstarter goal: to use modern tools to “bring our voices back.” Through dedication, creativity, and community pride, the Catawba Language Project is ensuring that the voices of the Catawba people will continue to be heard for generations to come.
How You Can Support the Future of Indigenous Languages
The hundreds of Native American languages spoken across the United States are among the most diverse and meaningful expressions of human culture. While many have faced centuries of suppression, they continue to endure through the efforts of Native communities determined to protect their heritage and pass it on to the next generation. These revitalization efforts are living proof that Indigenous languages are not disappearing; they are being reborn.
You can help sustain this movement by taking action today:
- Share this resource to help dispel common myths and celebrate the revitalization of Indigenous languages.
- Learn more about the vital community-led programs Running Strong for American Indian Youth® supports.
- Make a donation to help fund this essential cultural preservation work and empower future generations of Native speakers.
Every language holds a universe of stories, songs, and wisdom. Together, we can ensure these voices continue to thrive; honoring the past, strengthening the present, and protecting the future of Indigenous identity.