NOTES FROM THE CHIEF:
As the Chief of the Cherokee Nation, I take very seriously my vow to protect the culture, heritage and history of the Cherokee people. That objective is woven into my sworn oath of office, and it’s something I contemplate deeply each and every day.
A large part of that mission is preserving the Cherokee language and ensuring it not only survives, but also thrives and is alive for all future generations.
Nine years ago, we partnered with Northeastern State University on a groundbreaking educational initiative to teach the Cherokee language and cultivate instructors for the Cherokee Nation language immersion school. When we conceptualized the NSU partnership, the primary objective was to develop a source of certified teachers for our Cherokee Immersion Charter School.
The relationship with NSU and commitment to the Cherokee language remain strong, but as with all long-term partners, we must periodically examine the goals and success of our $100,000 annual commitment. The program has been popular, with full classes every semester. While it has allowed students to study Cherokee language, it has not fulfilled our primary objective to educate, train and produce a supply of certified teachers for our Cherokee Immersion Charter School classrooms.
After almost a decade, the program produced only two certified teachers for our Cherokee immersion school. Despite our large investment, we still have a shortage of fluent Cherokee speakers with teaching certification in early childhood education. As an Oklahoma charter school, the K-8 Cherokee immersion school teaches our young people to fluently speak the Cherokee language. However, it also requires teachers to possess a teaching certification in early education so they may teach the required math, science, English and social studies curriculums.
Upon reviewing the program, we found another glaring barrier to producing the teachers we need. Although we have been investing $100,000 into the program, college graduates were under no obligation to serve the Cherokee Nation upon receiving their degree, despite our teacher shortage.
To improve our intended outcomes and make the most of our investment, we are repurposing our funding to provide scholarships for five Cherokee language students for four years each. After the first semester in the program, students will sign a contract committing services after graduation to the Cherokee Immersion Charter School or at one of the Cherokee Nation’s cooperative satellite programs in public schools around the 14 counties.
Scholarship recipients will be chosen by the Cherokee Nation Translation Department, and the awardees must show some conversational language proficiency upon application. The students will work three hours a days, five days a week, at the Immersion School, much like student teachers, and use Cherokee Nation translation and teaching staff as a resource.
The contract will be similar to the Cherokee Nation directed studies program which has served us so well in attracting physicians and other much-needed professionals to work for Cherokee Nation after utilizing one of our college scholarships. After four years, we expect five graduates each year to be certified to teach the Cherokee language to our young people and be proudly committed to serve the Cherokee Nation. In addition to the immersion school, these graduates may be utilized in one of our satellite programs found in public schools across the Cherokee Nation.
The updates to this program are the result of more than six months of strategic planning between the Cherokee Nation and NSU, and the university tells us the same resources are still available to students, just as they have been for the past decade. Although Cherokee Nation is not the only funding source for the program, we’re happy we helped plant a seed that would grow into the robust program it is today. We are in full agreement these changes will help fulfill our needs, while continuing the Cherokee language program at the university.
The new approach will be a benefit to our people and to the university as well. It guarantees more success for both the Cherokee Nation and NSU, which is strengthening the Cherokee Language Program and still offering degrees in Cherokee language studies.
Without a doubt, our language preservation efforts will be better fortified with this new and updated approach. Language preservation is near to my heart and vital to the future of our people. I’m confident this new path will help us solidify that future so that our language lives on for generations to come.
Wado.