The Cherokee Nation held its 7th annual First-Language Cherokee Speakers Gathering on October 23 at the Chota Center to honor Cherokee language speakers and celebrate the tribe’s recent advances in sustaining the Cherokee language.

During Thursday’s gathering, Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. announced the tribe will provide an additional $2.3 million in annual funding to specifically target peer recovery support and a number other new or continuing Cherokee language efforts.

“Today is one of the most important gatherings of the year for the Cherokee people. We gather today to celebrate a group of men and women, mostly elders, who hold in their hearts and their minds one of our most precious resources. You hold in your hearts and mind something handed down by our creator. You hold something that binds us together today, and links us back to our very beginnings as Cherokee people. You are the keepers of the Cherokee language, and it is our honor today to honor you,” Chief Hoskin said.

Hundreds of Cherokee speakers attended the event to visit in their Native language, listen to performances in Cherokee, and learn from Cherokee Nation leaders and language speakers about the nation’s language projects.

“Under the Durbin Feeling Act of 2019, we made the largest language investment in Cherokee history. This year our language budget is $24.9 million. And, we are just warming up,” Chief Hoskin said. “The Durbin Feeling Act means more than $20 million annually for our language program and has meant over $68 million in language capital projects. Something transformative is happening. The last six years are not solely responsible for our progress. Deputy Chief, the Council and I stand on big shoulders. But, I’m proud of what we have done over the last six years, together. Six years ago I believed our language was endangered. Today I believe is on a path to revitalization.”

During Thursday’s gathering, Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. directed $2.3 million from the tribe’s Public Health and Wellness Fund Act to support the Language Department’s Peer Recovery Program, a new home care program for fluent speaking elders in vulnerable health status, more funds for Speaker Services home repair program and continued support of Little Cherokee Seeds, a partner program operated by the American Indian Resource Center.

“As Chief Hoskin has said, we know that we cannot fully and completely revitalize our Cherokee language if we have fluent Cherokee speakers who are struggling in the shadows,” said Deputy Chief Bryan Warner. “Perpetuating the language takes a holistic view – an understanding that we are deeply connected to one another and to our culture, traditions and language. We have so much work to do, but our Cherokee speakers and our second-language learners have given us the foundation we need to carry on this important mission.”

During the gathering, Chief Hoskin also announced plans to hire two community health aids in the Cherokee Language Speaker Services department to help check on the most vulnerable of elder, fluent Cherokee speakers and help them stay healthy in their homes. The Cherokee Nation will also provide additional funding for Speakers Services each year to repair more homes for fluent speakers. The tribe has already invested over $39 million in Speakers Services over the past few years.

New policies within the Cherokee Nation workforce will also encourage employees to pursue Cherokee language proficiency. Under the new initiative, the tribe will encourage employees to learn the Cherokee language, with entry level second-language learners receiving a 50-cent-per-hour increase and a $200 bonus when qualifying under the program’s guidelines. Additional levels will be available for more advanced language learners, and the tribe will reward its fluent Cherokee speakers with a $2.50-per-hour increase along with a $1,000 bonus.

“Every fluent-speaking employee and every employee who joins us on this mission will get an incentive,” Chief Hoskin said.

Additional announcements by Chief Hoskin during the speakers gathering included:

• Plans in the coming years for a Cherokee speakers village to be built in Adair County similar to the tribe’s first speakers village, which is located in Tahlequah;

• A reminder about the Cherokee Nation’s new language app, which is available on iPhone and Android and accessible to anyone for download on the Google Play Store;

• Ongoing efforts with the help of fluent speakers to translate the Cherokee Nation Constitution into the Cherokee language;

• The addition of a Cherokee language food truck;

• A continuation of support for the Cherokee Little Seeds program, operated by the American Indian Resource Center.

“The task before us is to decide, through our actions, whether in this century the sun is setting on our language or whether the sun is rising. What we do now will determine whether at the end of this century the Cherokee language remains with us,” Chief Hoskin said. “I think by the end of this century the Cherokee language will be a part of the lives of Cherokees everywhere. Let’s keep working together. Let’s keep investing. Let’s keep up the progress. Let’s make sure the sun continues to rise on our beautiful Cherokee language.”

Hundreds of Cherokees traveled to the gathering and took part in a variety of activities, including lunch, door prizes, and Cherokee music.

“My favorite part about coming to these gatherings is just listening to the language. It’s beautiful. The singing, and just to communicate in Cherokee, is wonderful,” said June Scott, a fluent Cherokee speaker and teacher at the Cherokee Nation’s immersion school. “I always tell my students to listen to the language. It’s beautiful and you will hear things you never heard before. All the dialects are different and when you listen to all the dialects spoken at the gathering, if that doesn’t touch your heart, I don’t know what will.”

As part of the speakers gathering, Special Envoy for Language Preservation and International Affairs Joe Byrd was also sworn in for a new term by District Judge Luke Barteaux with help from Cherokee speaker DJ Mc-Carter. Special Envoy Byrd was first named to the role by Chief Hoskin and Deputy Chief Warner in 2021. His oath was administered in the Cherokee language.