Tewa Pueblos

The Tewa language is of the Tanoan language family. Spoken in six pueblos in northern New Mexico and by many residents of Hano at Hopi First Mesa in Arizona, UNESCO has declared Tewa "definitely endangered" in Arizona and "severely endangered" in New Mexico due to the relatively few people who still speak it. In the interests of preserving the language, Esther Martinez published the San Juan Pueblo Tewa Dictionary in 1982. Her efforts to preserve the language gained national attention and in 2006, President George W. Bush signed into law the Esther Martinez Native American Languages Preservation Act. That legislation provided new funding for tribal programs to prevent further loss of heritage and culture.