Cherokee Language Revitalization Project

Year

In 2002, the Cherokee Nation carried out a survey of its population and found no fluent Cherokee speakers under the age of 40. The Cherokee Principal Chief declared a "state of emergency," and the Nation acted accordingly. With great focus and determination, it launched a multi-faceted initiative designed to revitalize the Cherokee language. Using state-of-the-art knowledge and language acquisition techniques, the Project includes a language immersion program for pre-school children, a university partnership degree program to certify Cherokee language teachers, and community language activities. The project preserves not just a language but a people–who see in their language the foundation of their own survival. 

Native Nations
Resource Type
Citation

"The Cherokee Language Revitalization Project". Honoring Nations: 2005 Honoree. The Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. Cambridge, Massachusetts. 2006. Report.

Permissions

This Honoring Nations report is featured on the Indigenous Governance Database with the permission of the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development. 

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