Of the approximately 5-6,000 languages currently spoken throughout the world, some 90% are expected to be moribund, that is, to have no children as speakers, within the next century (Krauss 1992). In many of these cases, the community of speakers has begun to consider the possibility of remedying this threatened situation. One such community is that of the Hupa, a Native American tribe in Northern California, which speaks the Hupa language, belonging to the Athapaskan language family. Currently, there are approximately 10 speakers of the Hupa language. These speakers are heavily involved in a number of language revitalization programs within the tribe. The purpose of this dissertation is to present ways in which the field of cognitive linguistics (see e.g. Lakoff 1987, 1992; Lakoff and Johnson 1980; Svorou 1993; Sweetser 1988) can be an invaluable tool in the language revitalization process, especially in the realization of the goal of revitalizing a language which accurately reflects the traditional values and worldviews of the culture to which it belongs. This begins with a consideration of the ways in which culture itself can serve as a grounding mechanism within the metaphoric and metonymic systems of a language. With this theoretical construct in mind, a detailed study of some of the metaphors and types of metonymy which appear within the Hupa language can take place. This data informs a discussion of classroom practices, and ways in which metaphor and metonymy can be used to create more accurate and culturally grounded speakers. An understanding of metaphoric and metonymic systems can also be of use in language modernization, a practice which is a necessary part of many language revitalization programs, including that of the Hupa. Thus, the goals of this dissertation are twofold. The first involves a detailed study of the role of culture in cognitive metaphor and metonymy. The second involves a consideration of how this knowledge can be used in researching the Hupa language and in Hupa language revitalization programs. This knowledge can be applied to other languages, as well, in endeavors to encourage their survival. (Jocelyn Ahlers)