The Cherokee language is deeply tied to Cherokee identity; yet generations of assimilation efforts by the U.S. government and anti-Indigenous stigmas have forced the Tri-Council of Cherokee tribes to declare a State of Emergency for the language in 2019. While there are 430,000 Cherokee citizens in the three federally recognized tribes, fewer than an estimated 2,000 fluent speakers remain—the majority of whom are elderly. The covid pandemic has unfortunately hastened the course. Language activists, artists, and the youth must now lead the charge of urgent radical revitalization efforts to help save the language from the brink of extinction.
Keli Gonzales
as Self
Carolyn Swepston
as Self
Schon Duncan
as Self
Marion Scraper
as Self
Eda Scraper
as Self
Durbin Feeling
as Self
Clifton Petit
as Self
Weynema Smith
as Self
David Crawler
as Self
Betty Frogg
as Self
Clara Proctor
as Self
Cora Flute
as Self
