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WASHINGTON — Esther Martinez, the Tewa storyteller killed in a recent car crash, could be remembered in a program of federal grants to schools that teach American Indian languages.

The House of Representatives approved the Esther Martinez Native Languages Act on Wednesday night on a voice vote.

Rep. Heather Wilson, an Albuquerque Republican, introduced the bill in February and renamed it this month to honor Martinez, who died Sept. 14 when the car in which she was traveling was hit in Espa¤ola.

Martinez, 94, of Ohkay Owingeh, was on her way home from Washington, D.C., where the National Endowment for the Arts had honored her. Martinez taught Tewa at schools in Ohkay Owingeh, formerly known as San Juan Pueblo.

"The native languages were precious to Esther Martinez, and this bill is designed to help preserve them. It is a fitting tribute to her life's work," Wilson said in a statement.

The bill would authorize competitive grants through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to support American Indian language survival schools aimed at children under age 7.

A decade ago, about 175 of the more than 400 pre-Colonial native languages existed. They are being lost at the rate of 12 languages every three years, Wilson said.

The Senate still must approve the Wilson bill and President Bush must sign it before it becomes law. Congress would then have to appropriate money for the grants.