We Will Speak

Movie"With fewer than 1,500 fluent speakers left, a small group of Cherokee activists race to save their language from disappearing."
Audience Score
100
We Will Speak
NR 1 hr 34 minDocumentary
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.
StarringKeli GonzalesCarolyn SwepstonSchon Duncan
DirectorsMichael McDermitSchon Duncan

Movie Details

Original Language:English
Executive Producers:Wes Studi, Gill Holland, Thomas Sadoski, Mark Shlomchik, Katherine Harper, Ben Speiser, Diana Baldovino
Production Companies:Blurry Pictures