Backdrop image for movie We Will Speak

We Will Speak (2023)

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.

  • Documentary

Top billed cast

  • Photo of Keli GonzalesKeli GonzalesSelf
  • Photo of Carolyn SwepstonCarolyn SwepstonSelf
  • Photo of Schon DuncanSchon DuncanSelf
  • Photo of Marion ScraperMarion ScraperSelf
  • Photo of Eda ScraperEda ScraperSelf
  • Photo of Durbin FeelingDurbin FeelingSelf
  • Photo of Clifton PetitClifton PetitSelf
  • Photo of Weynema SmithWeynema SmithSelf
  • Photo of David CrawlerDavid CrawlerSelf
  • Photo of Betty FroggBetty FroggSelf

Similar to We Will Speak