We Will Speak
With fewer than 1,500 fluent speakers left, a small group of Cherokee activists race to save their language from disappearing.
- Documentary
Overview
The Cherokee language is deeply tied to Cherokee identity; yet generations of assimilation efforts by the U.S. government and anti-Indigenous stigmas have forced the Tri-Council of Cherokee tribes to declare a State of Emergency for the language in 2019. While there are 430,000 Cherokee citizens in the three federally recognized tribes, fewer than an estimated 2,000 fluent speakers remain—the majority of whom are elderly. The covid pandemic has unfortunately hastened the course. Language activists, artists, and the youth must now lead the charge of urgent radical revitalization efforts to help save the language from the brink of extinction.
Keywords
- native american
- language
- linguistics
- community
- indigenous
- activism
- cherokee
- language revitalization
- cherokee nation
- united keetoowah band of cherokee indians
- eastern band of cherokee indians
Details
- Status
- Released
- Release date
- March 23, 2023
- Original language
- English
- Countries
- United States of America
- Production
- Blurry Pictures
- Cast
- JP Johnson,Marlene Ballard,Oleta Pritchett,Keli Gonzales,Carney Duncan,Gary Wayne Vann,Schon Duncan,Colby Luper,Ann Arneach,Betty Froggand 23 more
- Director
- Schon Duncan,Michael McDermit
- Producer
- Diana Baldovino,Schon Duncan,Laura Heberton,Gill Holland,Jacob Koestler,Wes Studi,Keli Gonzales,Michael McDermit,Ben Speiser,Mark Shlomchik,Thomas Sadoski,Katherine Harper
- Budget
- Not recorded
- Revenue
- Not recorded
- Homepage
- Official site
- IMDb
- tt22475220