Why Now?

As is the case with most indigenous languages, the vitality of the Cherokee language has never been more precarious. The COVID pandemic has taken its toll on Cherokee communities by accelerating the already rapid loss of Cherokee speakers. It is becoming increasingly difficult for new learners to find a space where they can practice the language in their everyday life and build a deeper shared understanding of language and culture together. In league with UNESCO’s Decade of Indigenous Languages and with our partners in Cherokee communities, we focus on bridging language practice (perseverance) and language documentation (preservation) into language persistence. We build a place where people from all walks of life can come together to speak, listen, read, and write in Cherokee.

Why DAILP?

DAILP centers historical documents as part of a vital work of language perseverance. Through detailed translations and linguistic resources, we make these documents accessible for language learning, scholarship, and public history. Our goal is to create an easy-to-use interface that brings together the Cherokee syllabary, English translation, and word-by-word review in ways that support language learners of all levels as they explore these Cherokee writings. We use the Cherokee language resources available to us in print and online modes to further illuminate these historical documents.