What language did the Native Americans speak?

The Native Americans did not speak one language, but had different languages for different trips and areas. Once the Europeans arrived, many Native Americans learned to speak English to be able to communicate. By the first part of the 20th century, many natives were put into schools and forbidden to speak their native tongue.

In the modern day, there are only eight Native American languages still spoken. Most of these languages are spoken only by older generations and are feared to be on the verge of going extinct. The languages still spoken are Navajo, Cherokee, Cree, Ojibwa, Dakota, Apache, Blackfoot and Choctaw. Out of these eight languages, only Navajo has more than 25,000 native speakers.