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 (ᎤᎶᎩᎳ) was born on April 28th, 1989. They were raised in Stilwell, Oklahoma, and are a product of language work provided by elders/teachers in their early years and beyond. They are a citizen of the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians. In 2014, they graduated from Northeastern State University and completed the Cherokee Language Master Apprentice Program in 2019. In 2023, Duncan's first feature-length documentary, ᏓᏗᏬᏂᏏ (We Will Speak) was released. Currently, they work using art as a vehicle to assert the importance and need for their people's culture and language.