Saving Cherokee: Language Endangerment and Paths Toward Revitalization

About this event

The Cherokee language is critically endangered. In 2019, all three federally recognized nations of Cherokee people — the Cherokee Nation, the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians — came together to declare a state of emergency for the language. Since then, several initiatives have been in place. In this lecture, Ben Frey of UNC Asheville will provide a history of the Cherokee language’s endangerment in North Carolina, discuss current initiatives to document, record and proliferate the language in day-to-day life and imagine future projects that might assist in this important work.