We Will Speak
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.
Genres
Cast
Keli Gonzales
Carolyn Swepston
Schon Duncan
Marion Scraper
Eda Scraper
Durbin Feeling
Clifton Petit
Weynema Smith
David Crawler
Betty Frogg
Clara Proctor
Cora Flute
Gil Jackson
Oleta Pritchett
Bo Lossiah
Marlene Ballard
Ann Arneach
Gary Wayne Vann
Howard Paden
Colby Luper
Ernestine Berry
Ryan Mackey
Krystan Moser
Dehaluyi Gonzales
Ashlyn Fullerton
Agalisiga Mackey
Olivia Wildcat
TJ Holland
JP Johnson
Lukas Swepston
Dakota Brown
Carney Duncan
Andrew Swepston
