Photo courtesy of Lawrence Panther
By: Yael Even
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Indigenous Studies Program looks to expand as they offer a Cherokee language course full-time in the fall.
Lawrence Panther, a Cherokee Native and speaker of the language will teach the courses, which will now be available at multiple time slots. Panther taught classes in the previous fall and spring semesters, but the great turnout stressed the need for more course offerings, said Linda Carol Jones, Chair and Associate Professor of the World Languages, Literatures and Cultures Department.
Beyond the change it can make within students’ lives, Jones said the advancement can change the dynamic of the program.
“We believe that regularly offering Cherokee language courses will attract students pursuing studies devoted to Native American history, anthropology, sociology, and linguistics,” Jones said. “Offering Cherokee full time is the next step in aligning our area program with other ethnic area studies programs at the U of A.”
The university grants the New Arkansan Non-Resident Tuition Award Scholarship to students in neighboring states—one of those being Oklahoma.
“Today, the Cherokee Nation, the second-largest Indian tribe in the U.S., resides just an hour west in Oklahoma,” Jones said. “There, some 10,000 Cherokee speakers live and work to pass their language on. The Cherokee Nation itself is making great strides in maintaining their language.”
Jones said offering the Cherokee language full time will help preserve the language for the Cherokee Nation and Neighboring areas in the future.