We Will Speak

With fewer than 1,500 fluent speakers left, a small group of Cherokee activists race to save their language from disappearing.

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.

Cast

Keli Gonzales

Self

Carolyn Swepston

Self

Schon Duncan

Self

Marion Scraper

Self

Eda Scraper

Self

Durbin Feeling

Self

Clifton Petit

Self

Weynema Smith

Self

David Crawler

Self

Betty Frogg

Self

Clara Proctor

Self

Cora Flute

Self