Keeping the Cherokee Language Alive

The last article that I read, "Kansas Head Start Teaches Cherokee Language", is obviously about an elementary school that is teaching children how to speak in Cherokee. The reason that they are doing this is because, "We have to incorporate another language and since the majority of our students are Native American and Cherokee, we decided that that would be the most appropriate to teach,” teacher Nicole Everhart said.  They have been dong this since 2006, and currently they are teaching 17 students to speak Cherokee; 15 of which are Cherokee.

Cherokee Nation citizen Helen Ketcher has been coming in and teaching the children how to speak Cherokee. She states that, “This is my heritage and I like to keep it going for some of the kids,” she said. “I know some of the kids probably don’t get to hear that at home anymore, so I just try to get that in there for them.”

They are teaching the children how to say simple things in Cherokee such as greetings, days of the week, food, walk, stop and more. 

I personally like this is a good idea.  If almost all of the children are Cherokee and they do not know how to speak their own language, they should learn it from somewhere.  This is a great way of keeping your heritage alive and moving, because hopefully they teach their children their language, and their children teach their children, etc.