TAHLEQUAH, Okla. — The Cherokee Nation’s Cherokee Immersion School graduated Friday its 8th grade class and largest kindergarten class to date.
The graduation ceremony, where 18 kindergarten students and two eighth-grade students officially graduated as conversational Cherokee speakers, was held May 9 at the Chota Conference Center in Tahlequah.
“I am as proud as I can be to have a chance to speak at this ceremony where 20 young Cherokees will reach this amazing milestone. Our Cherokee language is important to me, Deputy Chief and the Council and important to the Cherokee people,” said Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. “Language is that link that goes back to our creation, handed down by our creator. It is who we are in an essential way. Some would want to see the sun set on the Cherokee language, but the Cherokee people will see the sun rise on it.”
The Cherokee Immersion School was started in 2001 as a Cherokee language preservation program. Today, the school operates at the state-of-the-art Durbin Feeling Language Center in Tahlequah, constructed in 2021.
There are 131 students currently enrolled with 28 teachers, a student counselor, special education teacher, and several other staff members. Both first-language speakers (5) and second-language speakers (22) staff the school. There are 12 graduating classes in total. This year has the largest graduating Kindergarten class to date of 18 students.
"Let us all remember our ancestors and the walk they were forced to make here, and that these youth carry on the legacy of our language our ancestors carried with them,” Deputy Chief Bryan Warner said. “It is such an honor and blessing to be a small part in this celebration."
The school offers grade level state curriculum with all courses taught primarily in Cherokee. Grades include pre-k through 8th grade, with the newest addition being the infant immersion class that aims to teach Cherokee as a first language.
“These young people coming out of the Immersion program will be at the level that helps our whole Nation, and I appreciate everything that is happening here,” said Executive Director of the Cherokee Nation Language Program Howard Paden. “The students who are graduating this year have worked hard to carry on our language, making not only me, their teachers, and their parents very proud, but also our ancestors.”
Chief Hoskin and Deputy Chief Warner signed in 2019 the landmark Durbin Feeling Language Preservation Act which is helping revitalize the Cherokee language and represents the largest language investment in Cherokee history.
The permanent reauthorization of the act authorizes a minimum operating funding budget of $18 million annually for Cherokee language.
To learn more information about the graduation ceremony, contact the Cherokee Immersion School at 918-207-4900.
The 2025 kindergarten graduates include:
ᏩᏯ Jeshua Cerda
ᎬᏟ Joie Clark
ᎨᏳᏁᎦ Ari Frogg
ᎠᎵ Allie Ghormley
ᎤᏓᏅᏗ Grayson Godwin
ᎤᎦᏐᏣᏁᏗ Zane Grayson
ᎡᏏᎩ Bradan Hembree
ᎧᏄᏲᎵᏗ Sylas Holcomb
ᏩᎴᎳ Ruby Hummingbird
ᎤᏍᏆᏂᎪᏗ Lennox Killer
ᏏᎩᏥ Ezkiel McAlpin
ᏩᏯ Antonio Mendez
ᎢᎪᏗ Conner Nofire
ᎦᏁᎢ Harley Nofire
ᎦᎨᏓ Ayden Osage
ᏗᎦᏘᏯ Carter Tagg
ᏍᎪᏯ August Taylor
ᏤᏡᎩ Lyley Teehee
The 2025 8th grade graduates include:
ᏲᎾ Dacin Bunch
ᎠᏬᎭᎵ Luke Sams