The three federally recognized tribes of Cherokee people have declared a State of Emergency for the Cherokee language. In a Tri-Council meeting at Kituwah on the morning of Thursday, June 27, 2019 leaders of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, the Cherokee Nation (Okla.), and the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians (Okla.), passed unanimously a resolution “declaring a state of emergency for the Cherokee language and supporting the continued development of the language revitalization programs”.
Submitted by the Cherokee Nation, Tri-Council Res. No. 02-2019 states, “…there are approximately 2,000 fluent first language Cherokee speakers left, and each Cherokee tribe is losing fluent speakers at faster rates than new Cherokee speakers are developed.”
The resolution states that the Cherokee language is considered “endangered” by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and goes on to state, “…both remaining dialects of the Cherokee language, the Kituwah (Middle) and the Otali (Overhill), are endangered, and the language revitalization programs must be enhanced to prevent the extinction of the Cherokee language.”
This video follows the current effort to support the revitalization of the great Cherokee culture.
8 июл 2024
