The Cherokee Bible, one of the language's first books, is a window between worldviews

"If you wanted to learn the Cherokee language in the 1990s, there weren't many written resources: three dissertations from the 1970s and '80s, one textbook and a handful of college classes in North Carolina and Oklahoma. Even on most Cherokee land, it was unusual to see street or building signs in this endangered Indigenous language."

"There are nearly 500,000 enrolled members in the three federally recognized Cherokee Tribes: the Cherokee Nation and United Keetoowah Band, both based in Oklahoma, and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, based in North Carolina. Only about 2,000 of those members speak Cherokee as a first language."

"But over the past few decades, opportunities for learners of all ages have exploded. One of the authors of this article, Thomas Belt - a first-language speaker from Oklahoma - has been honored to play a role in that resurgence, working as a teacher, curriculum developer and language consultant. Today there is bilingual signage throughout the Eastern Cherokee reservation, in the Cherokee Nation capital of Tahlequah, Oklahoma, and on tribal buildings and some private businesses throughout Cherokee country."

"Translating the Bible into Cherokee began early in the 19th century, shortly after Protestant missionaries arrived in the Cherokee Nation - centered mainly in what are now western North Carolina, north Georgia and eastern Tennessee. In 1821, the brilliant Cherokee Sequoyah invented a writing system for the Cherokee language. First, he identified all the vowels, consonants and combinations of them used in the Cherokee language. He then inven"

In the 1990s, Cherokee language learning had limited written materials, including a few dissertations, one textbook, and some college classes. Most Cherokee land lacked street or building signs in Cherokee. Nearly 500,000 people are enrolled across the three federally recognized Cherokee Tribes, but only about 2,000 speak Cherokee as a first language. Over recent decades, learning opportunities have grown through teachers, curriculum development, bilingual signage, and community efforts. Revitalization includes apps, games, videos, social media, music, and immersion schools. A long-standing resource for learners is the Cherokee translation of the Christian Bible, connected to early 19th-century missionary work and Sequoyah’s invention of a Cherokee writing system in 1821.

Read at The Conversation