Native Languages Data Snapshot
Publication Date: January 15, 2015
American Indian and Alaska Native Languages Spoken at Home by American Indians and Alaska Natives 5 years and over in 2000 and 2010, populations with 2000 or more speakers.
(Source U.S. Census Bureau 2000 and 2010)
| 2000 | 2010 | |
| American Indian and Alaska Native Languages | Number of Individuals, 5 years and over | Number of Individuals, 5 years and over |
| All American Indian and Alaska Native Languages | 353,340 | 372,095 |
| Navajo | 173, 800 | 169,471* |
| Yupik | 15, 997 | 18,950 |
| Dakota | 17,466 | 18,616 |
| Apache | 12,502 | 13,063 |
| Keres | 10,522 | 12,945 |
| Cherokee | 12,009 |
11,610* |
| Choctaw | 9,272 | 10,343 |
| Zuni | 6,903 | 9,686 |
| Ojibwa | 6,919 | 8,371 |
| Pima | 9,220 | 7,270* |
| Inupik | 5,995 | 7,203 |
| Hopi | 6,769 | 6,634* |
| Tewa | 3,736 | 5,176 |
| Muskogee | 5,009 | 5,064 |
| Crow | 4,4149 | 3,705* |
| Shoshoni | 2,724 | 2,211* |
| Cheyenne | 2,075 | 2,156 |
| Eskimo | 2,206 | 2,076* |
| Tiwa | 1,995 | 2,009 |
It is heartening to see that overall, the estimated number of individuals ages 5 and over listed as speaking American Indian and Alaska Native languages has increased over the last ten years, by nearly 20,000. We can see from the above table that some languages have been maintaining, some gaining, and the items marked with "*" have lost seen their number of speakers decline. Even those holding steady or declining have been making efforts at language preservation and revitalization. This snapshot reminds us how precious each person is that speaks and passes on their native languages.