First Language

First Language DVD caseThe Cherokee Indians of North America were once the dominant power in what is now the Southeastern United States. The creeks, valleys and mountains of Southern Appalachia are reflected in their traditions, and in the rhythm of their speech. Around fourteen thousand Cherokee have remained in their ancestral homeland in the mountains of North Carolina, but very few among them still speak their native language. Many more Cherokee live in Oklahoma, where their ancestors settled after the ethnic cleansing known as Removal, but the situation is the same, with perhaps a handful of children learning the language at home. Recognizing the imminent loss of their most powerful vessel of knowledge, identity, and world view, the Eastern Band of Cherokee are now taking extraordinary steps in a fight to preserve the language, including the establishment of a total immersion Elementary school. First Language documents a U.S. community coming to terms with a heritage that predates the United States by thousands of years. DVD information: 56 minutes, in English and Cherokee with English subtitles.

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