SUPPORT FOR GREATER CHATTANOOGA IS PROVIDED BY EPB FIBER OPTICS THE CHEROKEES, BOTH THE CHEROKEE NATION AND THE EASTERN BAND OF THE CHEROKEE, IDENTIFIED, AND THE UNITED KEETOOWAHS, IDENTIFIED THAT THE NATIVE SPEAKERS THAT LEARNED IT FIRST, AND THEN LEARNED ENGLISH IN THE FIRST GRADE, WERE GOING TO BE GONE BY 2030, 2040, DEFINITELY BY 2040.

THE LANGUAGE IS NOW CONSIDERED ENGANGERED.

WE ARE PRETTY MUCH ASSIMILATED.

THEN THAT ALSO MEANS THAT WHEN MOM AND DAD ARE NOT USING THE LANGUAGE, THE CHILDREN ARE NOT PICKING IT UP.

THE MAIN HEARTBEAT OF THIS CULTURE OR OF ANY CULTURE, FUNDAMENTALLY, IS A LANGUAGE.

SO WHEN YOU LOSE THE LANGUAGE, YOU LOSE A VITAL ASPECT OF A CULTURE.

SO IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE TRY TO KEEP IT ALIVE AND TO TEACH FUTURE GENERATIONS.

IT'S A BEAUTIFUL LANGUAGE, AND THIS IS WHO WE ARE.

YOU KNOW, THIS IS WHAT IT MEANS TO BE CHEROKEE.

I GREW UP IN SNOWBIRD COMMUNITY, AND I LIVED ABOUT A MILE FROM THE SNOWBIRD DAY SCHOOL.

WE GREW UP SPEAKING CHEROKEE, AND THAT'S ALL WE KNEW, AND WHEN I STARTED SCHOOL I DIDN'T HAVE ANY ENGLISH AT ALL, NONE WHATSOEVER.

MY GRANDPA WAS, YOU KNOW, HE WASN'T EDUCATED BUT HE WAS A VERY INTELLIGENT MAN, AND HE ALWAYS KEPT HIS DICTIONARY THERE, AND HE WOULD TELL ME STUFF, AND HE WOULD SAY, 'AND IT MEANS THIS IN ENGLISH.'

AND HE'D SAY, 'I KNOW IT'S BORING TO YOU, BUT ONE DAY IT'S GOING TO BE IMPORTANT.'

THEY WERE VERY SMART.

THEY KNEW THAT WE NEEDED TO HEAR, AND KEEP OUR LANGUAGE, KEEP OUR CULTURE.

YOU KNOW, THEY GO TOGETHER.

AND I THINK MY SISTER SEEN THAT YEARS AGO.

SHIRLEY OSWALT WAS AN ENROLLED MEMBER, BORN IN SNOWBIRD, NORTH CAROLINA.

SHIRLEY HAD A SUMMER PROGRAM, HER AND MARY BROWN.

AND THEY'RE BOTH FLUENT SPEAKERS, EXTREMELY STRONG SPEAKERS.

THEY SEEN THE NEED FOR PRESERVING THE LANGUAGE, AND THE SUMMER CAMP WENT ON FOR ABOUT 15 YEARS, 16 YEARS BEFORE I GOT INVOLVED IN IT.

YEAR AFTER YEAR AFTER YEAR AFTER YEAR IT WAS SUMMER PROGRAM, SUMMER PROGRAM, SIX WEEKS, SIX WEEKS.

BUT THERE WAS A BIG GAP.

YOU KNOW, YOU GO TO SCHOOL FOR SIX WEEKS, YOU TEND TO FORGET.

THERE'S WHAT?

46 MORE WEEKS IN A YEAR?

AND THERE WAS NO LANGUAGE FOR MOST OF THE KIDS.

EVENTUALLY SHIRLEY PASSED AWAY WITH CANCER.

WHEN SHE GOT SICK AND COULDN'T DO IT ANYMORE, THAT'S WHEN MY BROTHER, GIL, SAID, 'WE'VE GOT TO CARRY ON.'

HE SAID, 'WE CAN'T JUST LET THIS STOP HERE.'

THE TRIBE APPROACHED US AND OUR PROGRAM, AND BY THIS TIME SHIRLEY WAS GONE, AND SHE HAD PASSED, AND THEY APPROACHED ME AND SAID, 'WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT HAVING AN AFTER-SCHOOL PROGRAM?'

AND WE WERE EXCITED.

HERE WE SERVE, BASICALLY, THE COMMUNITY.

WE HAVE ENROLLED MEMBERS AND THEN UN-ENROLLED MEMBERS.

AND WE HELP THEM WITH THEIR SCHOOLWORK FOR THE FIRST 30 MINUTES TO AN HOUR, AND THEN THEY GET TWO HOURS OF INSTRUCTIONAL CHEROKEE LANGUAGE.

WHEN I STARTED TEACHING, I REALIZED, I SAID, GOSH, I LOVE DOING THIS.

YOU KNOW, I SAID, I LOVE THESE KIDS.

THEY'RE GREAT.

IT'S JUST AWESOME TO SEE THEM GROWING IN THE LANGUAGE.

AND SO THAT'S WHAT I TEACH.

YOU KNOW, ANY LITTLE KID THAT CAN'T READ, THEY WANT TO LEARN, COME ON.

I'M ALL FOR IT.

AND THAT'S HOW WE'RE GOING TO DO IT.

I THINK THAT'S HOW WE'RE GOING TO SAVE OUR LANGUAGE.

THE IMPACT IS TREMENDOUS.

THEY'RE ABLE TO REMEMBER A WHOLE LOT MORE OF THE LANGUAGE THAN WHAT THEY NORMALLY WOULD HAVE BEEN.

IT'S A CONTINUAL PROCESS OF BUILDING ON.

IT'S LIKE BUILDING A FOUNDATION.

YOU LAY A BRICK, YOU LAY ANOTHER BRICK, YOU LAY ANOTHER BRICK, AND AFTER AWHILE...

IT'S JUST BEEN REALLY ADVANTAGEOUS AS FAR AS PROMOTING THE LANGUAGE.

ROBBINSVILLE HIGH SCHOOL IS CENTERED AT THE EDGE OF THE GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK IN GRAHAM COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA.

WE ARE LUCKY TO HAVE THE EASTERN BAND OF THE CHEROKEE INDIANS OUT ON THE SNOWBIRD RESERVATION PART OF OUR COUNTY.

AND OUR SCHOOL POPULATION CONSISTS OF ABOUT 15% NATIVE AMERICAN.

WE OFFER A CHEROKEE HISTORY AND LANGUAGE CLASS.

THAT WAS PUT IN PLACE IN ABOUT 2008.

WE HAD CHIEF MICHELL HICKS WHO WANTED TO PUT MONIES IN OUR HIGH SCHOOL AND HE WANTED TO HAVE A LANGUAGE TEACHER.

WE WERE VERY FORTUNATE BECAUSE WE HAD SHIRLEY OSWALT, SHIRLEY JACKSON OSWALT.

SHE HAD TAUGHT IN THE COMMUNITY FOR MANY YEARS, VOLUNTEERED.

AND SO WE REACHED OUT TO HER AND SHE AGREED TO COME IN TO THE ROBBINSVILLE HIGH SCHOOL AND TEACH OUR LANGUAGE.

WHEN SHE PASSED, IT WAS A BIG LOSS.

AND YOU KNOW, WE KNEW WE HAD TO GET SOMEONE THAT COULD FILL THAT POSITION.

AND FORTUNATELY, GIL, HER BROTHER, COME ABOARD.

MY FIRST YEAR OF TEACHING WAS 6TH GRADE IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOL HERE IN ROBBINSVILLE.

AND THE VERY FIRST DAY I REMEMBER THIS BEAUTIFUL, SMALL GIRL, 6TH GRADER, COMING UP TO ME AND SPEAKING TO ME IN THE LANGUAGE.

I SAID, 'WOAH.'

THAT JUST KIND OF SET THE STAGE, YOU KNOW IT JUST MADE ME THINK, YOU KNOW, THAT'S REALLY PRECIOUS.

I DON'T REALLY CARE ABOUT TEACHING READING AND WRITING.

I'M REALLY MORE INTERESTED IN TEACHING PEOPLE TO MAINTAIN THE LANGUAGE BECAUSE THERE ARE SO FEW OF US.

THE MOST IMPORTANT THING THAT I THINK THAT WE'RE DOING BY OFFERING THIS CHEROKEE LANGUAGE AND CHEROKEE HISTORY, IS WE ARE JUST A SMALL PART OF HELPING PRESERVE THE CULTURE OF THE CHEROKEE PEOPLE.

AND I THINK THAT'S CRUCIAL THAT GRAHAM COUNTY SCHOOLS PLAYS A PART IN THAT, AND HELPS PRESERVE THIS LANGUAGE OF THIS PEOPLE THAT FIRST OCCUPIED THIS AREA.

SHIRLEY WAS A VERY BIG SUPPORTER OF THE MUSEUM.

I CAN'T REMEMBER IF IT WAS HER OR IF IT WAS I, BUT IT WAS LIKE, WHY DON'T WE DO A CHEROKEE LANGUAGE CLASS?

AND SO OUR VERY FIRST CLASS, WHICH WOULD HAVE BEEN 18 YEARS AGO, MAYBE 19 YEARS AGO, AND IT WAS SHIRLEY AND IT WAS PROBABLY 8 OF US AS STUDENTS.

THAT WAS ONE OF THE MOST, AS A HISTORIAN, EMOTIONAL EXPERIENCES IN THE 30 YEARS I'VE BEEN DOING HISTORY, WAS TO HAVE THE LANGUAGE BEING TAUGHT BY SHIRLEY HERE, IN FRONT OF SEQUOYAH.

AFTER SHE GOT SICK, GIL SAID, 'LET'S GO TO VONORE, TENNESSEE AND TEACH THAT CLASS THAT SHE'S BEEN TEACHING.'

THE MORE I WORKED WITH THE ADULTS IN VONORE, I REALIZED THAT YOU TEACH ADULTS JUST LIKE YOU DO KIDS.

I TEACH THEM THE PHONETICS, AND THEN I SAID, 'WE'RE GOING TO GO RIGHT ON INTO TEACHING YOU SOME WORDS, AND THEN WE'RE GOING TO GO RIGHT ON INTO MAKING SENTENCES.'

AND I CONCENTRATE ON THE EASTERN DIALECT, SO THAT THEY CAN TALK TO SOMEONE ON THE CHEROKEE RESERVATION.

AS THE YEARS HAVE GONE, THE CLASS NUMBERS GREW LARGER AND LARGER.

SOMETIMES WE HAVE AN OVERFLOW.

WE WERE ONLY DOING TWO CLASSES, NOW WE'RE DOING THREE CLASSES IN VONORE, BECAUSE IT'S JUST TOO MANY STUDENTS.

THERE'S SEVERAL OF US WHO WANT TO TRY AND KEEP CULTURE AND LANGUAGE ALIVE.

IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO A LOT OF WHO HAVE INDIGENOUS BACKGROUNDS OR MIXED-INDIGENOUS BACKGROUNDS.

WHILE I'M NOT A TRIBAL MEMBER, I DO HAVE CHEROKEE HERITAGE IN MY FAMILY, AND SO IT FEELS LIKE A NATURAL CALLING.

IT FEELS LIKE A DUTY.

IT IS SORT OF LIKE CARRYING A TORCH FORWARD.

AND IT IS AN HONOR, IF ANYTHING ELSE.

THERE'S GOING TO BE SOME THAT'S GOING TO WANT TO TURN AROUND AND TEACH.

THERE'S GOING TO BE SOME THAT'S GOING TO SAY, 'LOU TOLD US WE CAN'T LOSE THIS.'

AND THAT'S WHAT SHIRLEY SAID, 'WE'VE GOT TO GET THEM TO THE POINT WHERE THEY CAN CARRY ON.'

AND THAT'S MY GOAL, TOO.

I SEE KIDS, THERE ARE SO MANY THAT WE HAVE THAT HAVE THE INTEREST OF KEEPING IT ALIVE, OF SPEAKING IT, AND PASSING IT ALONG.

SO I DON'T REALLY SEE IT DYING.

AND IF YOU LOVE IT, YOU WANT TO LEARN IT, YOU'RE GOING TO MAKE IT LIVE.

FOR ME, IT'S JUST AN INCREDIBLE SOURCE OF PRIDE.

I'M JUST SO THANKFUL THAT MY MOM AND DAD GAVE ME THE LANGUAGE.

IT'S A GIFT, YOU KNOW, FROM OUR CREATOR.

AND IF YOU THINK ABOUT IT, IT'S A GIFT THAT ONLY 50-SOMETHING PEOPLE IN OUR COMMUNITY HAVE THAT GIFT.

THAT'S PRETTY PROFOUND, TO ME.

SHIRLEY, LOU, AND GIL, FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART, THEY HAVE DONE AN INCREDIBLE JOB OF BRINGING THE LANGUAGE BACK.

IT'S JUST THAT NATURAL DESIRE NOW TO GIVE BACK WHAT YOU LEARNED FROM YOUR PARENTS AND YOUR ANCESTORS.

IT'S ABOUT GIVING.

AND IF YOU DO THAT, AND YOU HAVE THE INITIATIVE TO GO OUT AND DO YOUR BEST, THEN SHARE WHAT YOU KNOW.

SHARE WHAT YOU HAVE.

AND YOU'LL NEVER GO WRONG WITH THAT.