TAHLEQUAH, Okla. — The Cherokee Nation is celebrating after securing funding to help preserve the Cherokee Language.
2 News told you in October 2023 the tribe was pushing for more steps toward preservation:
Leaders of the tribe held a ceremony on Jan. 24 to celebrate the reauthorization of the Durbin Feeling Language Preservation Act at the Durbin Feeling Language Center in Tahlequah.
The Language Center is a hub for Cherokee Language immersion. The law, signed in 2019, was the largest language investment in Cherokee history.
- Previous coverage >>> Cherokee Nation announces upcoming plans to preserve language
Chief Chuck Hoskin and Deputy Chief Bryan proposed a permanent reauthorization of the act, committing a minimum operating budget of $18 million a year.
"The new legislation deems the loss of the Cherokee language to be a national emergency for the Cherokee people and along with the minimum annual funding, includes $35 million in new capital projects, including a proposed $30 million Cherokee language immersion middle school to extend enrollment and space for the current pre-K through eighth-grade language immersion program," said a Cherokee Nation spokesperson.
Funds will help protect more than 1,400 acres of trust land in Deleware County as the "Kenwood Cherokee Language and Culture Preserve" which will be used as a new language campus in the future.
The funding will also require a "State of the Cherokee Language" report every other year to measure the progress of language programs.
Since 2019, the Durbin Feeling Language Preservation Act has expanded various language programs, created new language programs and services, and funded the construction of the $20 million Durbin Feeling Language Center in Tahlequah, the tribe said.
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