Immersing Cherokee children in their native language is the cornerstone of efforts to revitalize the Cherokee language.

The Cherokee language is in danger of dying out in the near future due to the loss of elders who speak it and the few in younger generations who are fluent speakers. In an effort to reverse this trend, Cherokee Preservation Foundation is investing in language preservation programs that teach toddlers to adults how to speak and read their native tongue.

As a first step to plan long-term language revitalization work, CPFdn helped fund a community survey to assess the community’s knowledge and use of the Cherokee language. The Cherokee Language Comprehensive Study was conducted by the Kituwah Preservation and Education Program (KPEP) on behalf of the EBCI. The study released in February 2006 provides solid information that will guide future efforts. Here are some highlights of the study:

• There are eight stages of language loss and the new study concludes that the Cherokee language is between Stage Seven (only adults beyond child bearing age speak the language) and Stage Six (some intergenerational use of the language). On this scale, Stage Eight is the closest to extinction and Stage One is the closest to dynamic survival.
• 6.9% of the survey participants are “highly fluent or able to speak Cherokee well.”
• It is estimated that 460 speakers reside in Cherokee communities.
• 72% of fluent speakers are over the age of 50.
• The majority of survey respondents (70%) said that maintaining and revitalizing the language is very important because it is such a central aspect of tribal identity and cultural heritage.
• 85% said they would be interested in participating in a language revitalization program; 68% indicated they would participate as a student.
• Infants, preschool children, and elementary school children were identified as the most important groups who should learn the language, due to the role of early language acquisition in learning and retention.

Following the survey, the Tribe embarked on a major initiative in partnership with Western Carolina University to keep the language alive. Language immersion efforts will be expanded on the Qualla Boundary to produce a new generation of Cherokee speakers, and WCU is expanding the curriculum for a Cherokee language and education program.

Cherokee Preservation Foundation recently provided $458,000 to support the initiative's first phase, which includes staffing and planning for the new Kituwah Immersion Academy. Part of those funds has enabled Western Carolina University to hire a language program developer/linguist, as well as a language and community coordinator who is fluent in Cherokee.

The new university staff members will develop language courses and teacher certification programs, recruit students to be teachers and create a Kituwah Teaching Fellows Program. The goal is to not only help revitalize the language but also support immersion schools by training high-quality teachers fluent in the language. "We want to identify Cherokee speakers who can become certified teachers," said Carrie McLachlan, coordinator of WCU's Cherokee Studies program.

Students in language immersion programs develop proficiency in their second language by hearing and using it to learn their school subjects rather than by studying the language itself. Immersing children in a language is the best way to save a language. According to Renissa Walker, Kituwah Preservation and Education Program manager, the goal for the language immersion program, which currently serves about 18 children in its preschool program, is to expand the program through sixth grade, starting in 2009.

Ben Frey, a WCU graduate student and assistant as well as a member of the Eastern Band, is developing a Cherokee language class using the principles used to design classes in other modern languages. Frey is integrating grammatical knowledge gained from linguistic research to create a set of language rules to help Cherokee language students. His ideas include creating puzzle pieces that help students put words together and developing a Cherokee computer game that will teach the language.

In these ways – with the survey that provides a benchmark and with new teaching initiatives in the Cherokee community and at WCU – the groundwork is being laid to bring the Tribe’s native language with its unique identity and rich heritage back into the daily lives of local people.