EUREKA, Calif. — Sitting in a circle in a classroom at Eureka High School here, Tenayah Norris and a half-dozen other students were learning how to express direction in Yurok, a Native American language that nearly became extinct a few years ago. Growing up on the Yurok reservation about 90 minutes north of here, she sometimes heard her grandfather speak it to his contemporaries, and she studied it, on and off, in the community.
“But it’s starting to click faster for me now,” said Tenayah, a 15-year-old with pink hair and a bright smile. “I’m glad it’s here — otherwise, I’d have to go somewhere else to take classes.”
Her goal is to go to college and eventually teach the language. “We need more fluent speakers,” she said. “We’re getting more, which would be nice to speed up.”
Eureka began offering Yurok two years ago, bringing to four the number of public high schools in Northern California where the language is taught. Two public elementary schools also offer it, including one as part of a new immersion program.
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