ᏓᏗᏬᏂᏏ (We Will Speak) by Schon Duncan, Michael McDermit - Trailer

Official Selection 17th Native Spirit Film Festival 17 Oct-7 Nov 2023.
Free. Monday 23 October at The Muse, 269 Portobello Road, London W11 1LR
Doors open 6pm exhibition. Films 6.30-9.30pm
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.
Schon Duncan, Michael McDermit | 2022 | Cherokee, United States | 94’