A language dies when you don't have children learning it at home

"A language dies when you don't have children picking it up in the home," says Scott DeLancey, a University of Oregon linguist.

Here in America's Northwest, there are signs policymakers are beginning to take some notice. Last May, the Oregon State Legislature passed a resolution honoring Ms. Johnson's grandmother, Gladys Thompson, for her efforts to teach Kiksht and "her dedication to the preservation of Indian ways."

In 2006, the National Science Foundation awarded $5 million to support efforts to digitally record more than 60 endangered languages around the world. Included was $263,000 to document stories and conversations in Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian, spoken along the Alexander Archipelago in Alaska and islands off British Columbia.

"At least it's a validation of the implications of what is to be lost," says Patricia Shaw, director of the First Nations Languages Program in Vancouver, British Columbia.

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New Mexico and Colorado ancient indian ruins

Chaco, in Northwestern New Mexico, is the more pristine, deliberately kept difficult to reach by the decision to leave the entrance road mostly unpaved — which also leaves it sometimes impassable after rain. (At one point we ended up in the middle of a storm-created gully and the rental car nearly got stuck. Yes, the ranger we'd called ahead had advised an SUV would be "more comfortable," but she'd also said "most of the time" the road is navigable, and with the cost of gas, well ... )

You can view most of the ruins by walking the trails off a nine-mile loop road through the canyon. In late August, we saw a few small groups of tourists but much of the time we had the place nearly to ourselves.

Mesa Verde, in Southwest Colorado, has the more dramatic setting, atop a mesa reached by a winding mountain road 15 miles from the park entrance, with spectacular views of mountains beyond and valleys below. Its archaeological sites are tucked into canyons throughout the park, with one main area, Wetherill Mesa, a steep, 45-minute drive from the visitors' center and lodge, and the other, Chapin Mesa, about 15 minutes in a different direction.

The archaeological sites: Great houses vs. cliff dwellings

Chaco's main draw is Pueblo Bonito, one of the most extensively excavated and studied sites in North America. Center of the Chacoan world and occupied from the mid-800s to 1200s, it was a four-story masonry "great house" with more than 600 rooms and 40 kivas.

Cliff Palace is Mesa Verde's largest and best-known site, and North America's largest cliff dwelling, with 150 rooms (you climb five 8-10-foot ladders and can descend into one of its kivas).

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California Indians Historic Timeline

California Indians are members of more than sixty indian tribes. Many California indians are referred to as Mission Indians or Rancheria indians.

8,000 B.C. - According to leading archeologists, ceramic bowls, spears, and coiled baskets found in the Barona Ranch area in Southern California, were used by California Indians more than 10,000 years ago.

2,000 B.C. - Ancestors of the Miwok Indians of Yosemite first arrived in the region, establishing villages along the Merced River.

1,000 B.C. - According to archeological evidence, the Paiute Indians first arrived in the southeastern part of California at this time, before expanding eastward into Nevada, Arizona, and Utah.

390 B.C. - According to human fossils found on the campus of Santa Clara University, the Ohlone people were living in the area more than 2,400 years ago.

1542 - Captain Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo landed on the California coast and claimed it for Spain.

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