In July, about 20 7- and 8-year-olds will gather at a summer camp in the Hoopa Valley Indian Reservation, in Northern California. They will sing songs, put on puppet shows and play games.

And there will be one special rule: No English.

That’s because this five-day summer camp is held almost entirely in Hupa, the native language of the roughly 4,000-member Hoopa Valley Tribe that mostly lives in that part of the state.

For decades, native speakers of Hupa, also known as na:tinixwe mixine:whe, have dwindled. Only about 20 people are fluent enough today to teach the language and pass it on, tribe members estimate. The camp is a bet that immersion at a young age can help change that.

“That’s always the goal,” said Sara Chase, a member of the tribe who organized the camp with the Hoopa Tribal Education Association. “How do you create new speakers?”