Language Loss and Cultural Recovery in Native American Literature

Language is a fundamental carrier of culture, identity, and collective memory. In the context of Native American communities, colonial domination, forced assimilation, and institutional suppression led to severe language loss, resulting in cultural dislocation and identity crises. This paper examines how Native American literature addresses the trauma of language loss while simultaneously fostering cultural recovery. Through novels, poems, and oral narratives, Native American writers reclaim indigenous languages, storytelling traditions, and ancestral knowledge as acts of resistance and renewal. The study explores how authors such as Leslie Marmon Silko, N. Scott Momaday, and Joy Harjo employ bilingual expressions, oral narrative structures, myths, and symbols to restore cultural continuity disrupted by colonial history. Literature becomes a powerful medium through which suppressed voices re-emerge, enabling communities to reconnect with their linguistic heritage and spiritual worldview. The paper further argues that cultural recovery in Native American literature is not merely nostalgic but transformative, allowing indigenous identities to adapt and survive in contemporary contexts. By foregrounding language as a site of memory and resistance, Native American literature challenges dominant historical narratives and asserts indigenous epistemologies. Ultimately, the study highlights the vital role of literature in preserving endangered languages and revitalizing cultural identity, affirming storytelling as a means of survival, resilience, and self-definition.