WHAT:
Cherokee Nation leaders including Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. will gather with fluent Cherokee speakers and advanced language learners to celebrate the language and discuss new initiatives focused on revitalizing the Cherokee language
WHEN:
Thursday, Oct. 23 at 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.
WHERE:
Chota Conference Center
3307 Seven Clans Ave.
Tahlequah, OK 74464
WHO:
Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr.
Deputy Principal Chief Bryan Warner
Cherokee Nation Cabinet
Council of the Cherokee Nation
Cherokee first-language speakers and language learners
TAHLEQUAH, Okla. — Cherokee Nation leaders including Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr., Deputy Principal Chief Bryan Warner, and Cherokee first-language speakers, second-language speakers, and language learners will gather for the seventh annual First-Language Speaker Gathering.
During the event, Chief Hoskin will discuss ongoing efforts to perpetuate the use of the Cherokee language, including a number of new initiatives to support the Cherokee Language Department.
The event will also include a meal and fellowship, and Cherokee musical performances.
Since taking office in 2019, Chief Hoskin and Deputy Chief Bryan Warner have worked with the Council of the Cherokee Nation to invest historic resources – more than $68 million – into Cherokee language capital projects. The Cherokee Nation Language Department now estimates there are less than 1,500 first-language, fluent Cherokee speakers, most of whom are over the age of 60. The language department’s goal is to graduate more than 25 second language speakers per year through the tribe’s language programs.