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The University of Tennessee's First Indigenous Language Class

WUOT | By Chrissy Keuper
Published May 16, 2022 at 5:00 AM EDT
lschlemmer_wunc_01
Liz Schlemmer/WUNC
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https://www.npr.org/2018/12/24/674509385/to-save-their-endangered-language-2-cherokee-brothers-learn-as-they-teach
Micah Swimmer oversees a class of Eastern Band Cherokee language learners at the New Kituwah Academy in Cherokee, N.C. Behind him, a bulletin board displays the names of the few remaining fluent speakers of his Cherokee dialect.

The University of Tennessee celebrates its first indigenous language class: Cherokee Language and Culture I in the Department of Anthropology. WUOT's Chrissy Keuper spoke with UT Anthropology Professor and Department Head Barbara Heath and with Micah Swimmer, a tribal member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI), who will teach the class.

Cherokee: Open Access Resources (University of Tennessee Libraries)

Barbara-picture.jpg
https://sha.org/blog/2014/04/meet-a-member-barbara-heath/
Barbara Heath

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Chrissy Keuper
Chrissy is WUOT's News Director, as well as host of monthly talk show Dialogue. Her first job with the station was as a weekend student announcer while earning her bachelor's in Anthropology from the University of Tennessee. From 2004 to 2015, she served as the station's local host for Morning Edition. In 2019, she returned to the station as the local host for All Things Considered.
See stories by Chrissy Keuper