We Will Speak (2023)

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

• Documentary

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.

Rating

10 / 10 (1 votes)

Release date

March 23, 2023

Runtime

1h 34m

Language

English

Director

Michael McDermit, Schon Duncan

Status

Released