TAHLEQUAH, Okla. — Cherokee Nation and Prime Video have teamed up to help bring the Cherokee language to viewers across the globe. As part of an ongoing collaboration, one of the leading entertainment companies is now exploring opportunities for the largest tribal nation in the United States to dub and subtitle select titles within Prime Video’s full library of originals into the Cherokee language.
Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. recently announced the initiative during an annual gathering of first-language, fluent Cherokee speakers. He then shared that the first production to be developed in Cherokee is Prime Video’s hit series “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.”
“In our efforts to preserve, share and promote our language, Cherokee Nation continually illustrates the importance of immersing both speakers and learners in Cherokee as much as possible, and not just in a classroom,” said Chief Hoskin. “This is the first of many endeavors in what we envision as an incredibly beneficial and long-term relationship with our allies at Amazon. Together, we are making great strides to bring the Cherokee language to a global audience.”
The first episode of “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” Season 1 produced in Cherokee will premiere during a special screening in coordination with SkasdiCon, happening at the Cherokee Casino Tahlequah on Nov. 9. All Season 1 episodes of the series will be translated and available in Cherokee by the Spring of 2025.
Cherokee Film and the Cherokee Nation Language Department helped spearhead the tribe’s first efforts to bring the Cherokee language to mainstream content on a worldwide scale. The teams will continue working together to make additional film and television content available in Cherokee.
“We are so excited to see the Cherokee language featured in such a prominent way,” said Howard Paden, Cherokee Nation executive director of language programs. “This unique cultural collaboration with Prime Video can absolutely play a role in the helping us preserve and perpetuate the language. As we create modern content that is both engaging and entertaining, we are putting a real spotlight on the Cherokee language. This will be a series that our speakers can return to time and time again.”
Cherokee Nation selected “The Lord of the Rings” franchise because of its relatability, popularity and the level of difficulty inherently included in dubbing its content into Cherokee. The tribe and its businesses’ valuable and strategic investment in the language-speaking community is helping provide jobs for Cherokee language learners and speakers while building dubbing skillsets for Cherokee citizens within both the Language Department and Cherokee Film.