On the National Language: The Poetry of America’s Endangered Tongues

A 2024 Anthem Awards winner for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (Awareness & Media category) Through art photography and prose, this book addresses the fragility, beauty, and cultural value of preserving endangered languages, particularly Indigenous languages, at a time when Indigenous and diversity issues are at the forefront of our national conversations. In a groundbreaking project turned into a national touring exhibition, endangered-language speaker, poet, and photojournalist B. A. Van Sise worked with endangered-language speakers, learners, and revitalizers across three years and an entire continent to showcase some of the natural beauties of their languages and lands, highlighting, in particular, American diversity and its many Indigenous communities. Augmented by nine contributors from diverse cultural groups, On the National Language is a journey into both the challenges and opportunities faced by revitalization efforts, as well as a testament to the beauty and poetry of these many languages themselves.