We Will Speak

We Will Speak backdrop
Poster for We Will Speak
MOVIE

We Will Speak

With fewer than 1,500 fluent speakers left, a small group of Cherokee activists race to save their language from disappearing.

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.

Original Title

ᏓᏗᏬᏂᏏ

Release Date

2023-03-23

Year

2023

Duration

1h 34m

Status

Released

Score

10.00

Production

#indigenous#native-american#community#language#cherokee#activism#linguistics#cherokee-nation#language-revitalization#united-keetoowah-band-of-cherokee-indians#eastern-band-of-cherokee-indians

Cast

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Keli Gonzales

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Carolyn Swepston

Schon Duncan

Schon Duncan

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Marion Scraper

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Eda Scraper

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Durbin Feeling

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Clifton Petit

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Weynema Smith

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David Crawler

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Betty Frogg