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NEWS ᎧᏃᎮᏓ
In honor of Sequoyah and this year’s bicentennial celebration of the Cherokee syllabary, Cherokee Nation has become the first Native American tribe to use motion and facial capture technology to help preserve and promote an indigenous language.
In collaboration with the tribe’s language program, Cherokee Nation Film Office and Original Content today premiered “Sequoyah: Voice of the Inventor for the Bicentennial.” Behind the scenes as “Sequoyah: Voice of the Inventor for the Bicentennial” is filmed at the Cherokee Nation Covid
“Through the use of this state-of-the- Response Virtual Soundstage, using state-of-the-art motion art technology and the incredible efforts and facial capture technology. of our first-language speakers, we are perpetuating the Cherokee language for many generations to come,” said Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. “For 200 years, Sequoyah’s invention of the Cherokee syllabary has truly advanced our people, and it continues to move us forward today through new and innovative technological breakthroughs.”
Filmed at the Cherokee Nation COVID Response Virtual Soundstage, the production brings Sequoyah to life through real-time graphics and the voice and movements of firstlanguage Cherokee speaker Steve Daugherty. “Cherokee Nation has brought programming, infrastructure and industryleading technologies to Oklahoma,” said Jennifer Loren, director of Cherokee Nation Film Office and Original Content. “Cherokee Nation’s COVID Response Virtual Soundstage includes unique content creation tools that have never been available in Indian Country before now. This virtual production is a first of its kind among tribal nations and an excellent example of how emerging technology can help us preserve and share indigenous languages.” Fluent Cherokee speaker Steve Daugherty brings The tribe’s virtual video production Sequoyah to life through motion and facial implements a combination of video game capture technology. engine and motion and facial capture technology using a motion capture suit and headset to record body movements, facial expressions and language. Through a live render engine, recorded data was then used to create a walking and talking digital character of Sequoyah.
Commissioned 19th Century-style syllabary typeset used to mark ‘Sequoyah Day’
By Justyne Eden
In celebration of the 200-year anniversary of Sequoyah’s syllabary, a 19th Century-style typeset was recently commissioned by Cherokee Nation Cultural Tourism and used to print a celebratory proclamation entirely in the Cherokee syllabary.
The typeset was translated by the Cherokee Nation Language Department and created in Northfield, Massachusetts. The tribe’s language department then worked with Bobby Martin, a professor of visual arts at John Brown University in Siloam Springs, Arkansas, to finalize the special print.
“The reason to make this set was to commemorate Sequoyah’s invention,” said Cherokee Language Program Manager Roy Boney.
The special proclamation was created and printed in honor
of Oct. 15, 2021, being named by Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. as “Sequoyah Day.” The actual printing process took weeks to complete, as the language department had to first translate the proclamation into Cherokee, then read the syllabary typeset upside down and backwards in order to properly place the type on the press for printing. “It was quite an honor to see how our Cherokee Nation Language Department used a printing press to honor Sequoyah and his contributions to the Cherokee people,” Chief Hoskin said. “Holding a print that came Cherokee Language Program Manager Roy Boney works with syllabary straight off of the press helps typeset. Watch video by scanning the QR code above. get a real sense of history and the significance of the 200th anniversary of Sequoyah’s syllabary. This work is an important piece of our celebration of the written Cherokee language.” Cherokee Nation Language Technology Specialist Jeff Edwards, Special Advisor Todd Enlow, Language Technology Assistant Zachary Barnes, Cherokee Language Program Manager Roy Boney, JBU Professor Bobby Martin, JBU President Charles Pollard, Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. and Executive Director of Language Howard Paden display a proclamation in honor of the 200-year anniversary of Sequoyah's syllabary.
Cherokee Immersion School language teacher Betty Frogg writes syllabary during class.
Immersive opportunities
Chief Hoskin announces plan to create Cherokee Immersion School in Adair County
By Troy Littledeer
The Cherokee Nation is creating a new Cherokee language immersion school in Adair County as part of the Durbin Feeling Language Preservation Act signed by Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. in 2019.
The existing Cherokee Immersion School in Tahlequah began in 2001, and the new program in Adair County will be the tribe’s second immersion school where students are taught exclusively in the Cherokee language.
“Elder Cherokees like the late Durbin Feeling have inspired younger Cherokees to learn our language because their philosophy and actions shined through the darkness that was the state of our language,” Cherokee Nation Language Department Executive Director Howard Paden said. “These lifeways reflected our original designed purpose and were so pure that they changed us; they made us better, not only as individual Cherokees but for the better with our families and communities, too. That's one reason I think an immersion school in Adair County will succeed. The school and community can take care of each other and restore this important part of the Cherokee culture.”
More than 13,000 Cherokee citizens live in Adair County, Oklahoma – more Cherokees than in any other county. Denise Starr is a Cherokee citizen and life-long resident of Adair County. Her daughter Dayci has attended the Cherokee Immersion Charter School in Tahlequah since age 3. “The decision to send Dayci to the Immersion was hard,” Starr said. “But I did it knowing she would be a small part of history by being one of the few that could preserve our language. As she’s getting older, I have noticed that she is discovering there aren’t too many speakers left. She has speakers around her at home, like her grandparents, aunts and uncles, but she is just starting to realize that beyond them, it's just her. Discovering that is feeding her a drive to keep learning.” In the Cherokee Immersion School environment, students are taught to read, write, and speak Cherokee each day. The Cherokee Nation estimates only about 2,000 fluent speakers of the language are alive today. Chief Hoskin signed the Durbin Feeling Language Preservation Act in 2019 in honor of the late Feeling, a leading Cherokee linguist, in an effort to both protect and perpetuate the Cherokee language through the largest language investment in the tribe’s history.
The “Cherokee Voices Cherokee Sounds" radio broadcast with host Dennis Sixkiller celebrated its historic 1,000th episode in August. The show began more than 17 years ago. Each weekend, Sixkiller connects listeners to Cherokee speakers, songs in Cherokee, and lessons on the Cherokee language. “Cherokee Voices Cherokee Sounds” can be heard throughout the Cherokee Nation Reservation on weekends, including on radio stations broadcasting from Tahlequah, Vinita, Bartlesville, Claremore and Sallisaw. The show is also available to stream around the world through www. soundcloud.com/TheCherokeeNation.
Visit the QR code to listen to episodes of Cherokee Voices Cherokee Sounds.
Former Council Speaker Byrd named Special Envoy for Language Preservation
Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. named former Council Speaker Joe Byrd as the tribe’s first Special Envoy for International Affairs and Language Preservation at a ceremony in Tahlequah. Byrd is a fluent Cherokee speaker and longtime public official with Cherokee Nation, serving in office as Principal Chief from 1995-99 and as a member of the tribe’s legislative branch from 1987 to 1995, and from 2012 until completing his term of office on August 14, 2021. Byrd served as Speaker of the Council beginning in 2013. As Special Envoy, Byrd will work closely with Secretary of State Tina Glory Jordan, Executive Director of Government Relations Kim Teehee and Executive Director of Language Programs Howard Paden.
Cherokee Nation, Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians protecting language
The Cherokee Nation and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in North Carolina recently signed an agreement to develop collaborative projects and opportunities that will support and increase the use of the Cherokee language. The tribes agreed to share resources and to work with Western Carolina University on the creation of teacher curriculum and training. The tribes will share a strategic plan and hold quarterly meetings, and a seven-member delegation will be created to oversee the language, history and cultural interests. The Cherokee Nation estimates it has about 2,000 fluent Cherokee speakers and the Eastern Band estimates it has about 200.
First Lady of the United States Dr. Jill Biden and U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland visited the Cherokee Nation’s Cherokee Immersion School in Tahlequah in December to experience first-hand how the tribe is successfully making historic investments in preserving and perpetuating the Cherokee language.
The visit by First Lady Biden, First Daughter Ashley Biden, and Secretary Haaland came just more than two weeks after the First Lady unveiled The White House Native Language Memorandum of Agreement during the 2021 Tribal Nations Summit. The two-day virtual summit in November was the first gathering of tribal leaders since 2016 and was established to connect the Biden Administration with Third-grade Cherokee Immersion School teacher Cindy Collins, First Lady Dr. Jill tribal leaders across the Biden, Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. listening country in a nation-to- to third-grade students Hunter Sanders, Henry Johnson and Riley Aimerson. nation setting.
Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. was a panelist during the summit and encouraged the Biden Administration to continue to have robust, meaningful dialogue on critical issues, policy initiatives and goals that impact all of Indian Country. “I want to thank First Lady Dr. Biden and Secretary Haaland for visiting the Cherokee Nation Reservation and seeing first-hand how our Cherokee Language Department is not just preserving our precious Cherokee language, but finding innovative ways to perpetuate it so that it remains the lifeblood of Cherokee culture for generations to come,” Chief Hoskin said. “The Cherokee Nation remains committed to preserving our language because we know it is at the heart of our identity. December's visit by First Lady Biden and Secretary Haaland provided us an opportunity to discuss how critical it is that the Cherokee Nation and tribal nations across the country receive the resources and support we need to act swiftly and decisively to save our unique languages, which are cultural treasures.” Discussion during the visit focused on the Cherokee Nation Durbin Feeling Language Act signed by Chief Hoskin in 2019 to invest a historic $16 million into preserving and perpetuating the Cherokee language. The Act has paved the
way for the tribe to build a new state-of-the-art language hub to house all Cherokee language programs in one facility. The Act is named in honor of the late Cherokee linguist Durbin Feeling, known as the greatest contributor to the Cherokee language since Sequoyah.
In addition to highlighting Cherokee Nation’s language preservation efforts, Chief Hoskin praised the recent multiagency Memorandum of Agreement on Native Languages which will help preservation efforts across Indian Country. He also discussed the need for Congress to quickly pass the bi-partisan Durbin Feeling Native Language Act of 2021, setting federal goals for preservation efforts.
During the Cherokee Immersion School visit, First Lady Biden and Secretary Haaland joined third-grade Cherokee students for a portion of their classroom instruction reading, writing and speaking the Cherokee language. In the immersion environment, students learn state-standard, grade-level curriculum but entirely Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, First Lady Dr. Jill Biden, Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr., Deputy Chief Bryan Warner, Cherokee Language Department Executive in the Cherokee language Director Howard Paden discuss Cherokee Nation’s historic prioritization of language. throughout the day.
Members of the renowned Cherokee National Youth Choir also performed a Cherokee hymn, “Orphan Child,” for First Lady Biden and Secretary Haaland during the visit.
“As an English teacher, I have always believed that language is not just a collection of words. Language has the power to create, defining the shades of our joy and sorrow, dividing what matters from the mundane. It helps us tell the story of our culture and traditions -- containing the wisdom of the world that only we know. It connects us to our faith, naming the divine and our relationship with it. It is a thread weaving through the past, present, and future -- the inheritance of our ancestors and a gift we give to our children. The ability to speak our own truth in our own words is power,” said First Lady Biden.
The Biden Administration has proposed $220 million to help tribal nations around the country protect and preserve their native languages. Watch more from
“It’s amazing to be at the Cherokee Immersion School the historic visit with our First Lady Dr. Jill Biden to highlight an issue here.
that is close to my heart,” Secretary Haaland said. “Our indigenous languages are an important part of our culture and who we are as a people. Our languages connect us to our ancestors and to our homelands and help us share indigenous knowledge from generation to generation. Many of our languages are at risk from being lost. That’s why Native language preservation is so important and we are taking action.”
First Lady Biden is a professor of writing at Northern Virginia Community College. Along with advocating for tribal communities, she is an ardent supporter of education, military families, economic empowerment for women and girls, and cancer education and prevention. Secretary Haaland made history by becoming the first Native American to serve as a cabinet secretary. She is a member of the Pueblo of Laguna and is an ardent advocate for environmental justice, missing and murdered indigenous women, and policies that support Native American communities. The White House Native Language Memorandum of Agreement unveiled by First Lady Biden in November was signed by the Departments of Education, Health and Human Services, the Interior and numerous other federal agencies to help promote collaboration on programming, resource development and policy related to Native languages. The MOA also establishes a Native Language Workgroup with representatives from the Department of Education, Health and Human Services, and the Bureau of Indian Education to report annually on progress related to the agreement.
Chief Hoskin, First Lady January Hoskin, Daughter Jasmine Hoskin, Deputy Principal Chief Bryan Warner, members of the cabinet, Council of the Cherokee Nation, Special Envoy for Language Joe Byrd, Executive Director of Language Howard Paden, Miss Cherokee Chelbie Turtle and many students and staff from Cherokee Immersion School attended the visit.
