Language & Culture
Cherokee Language & Culture
Our mission is to promote and preserve the language and culture of the Eastern Band of Cherokee. And emphasize the unique story of the Snowbird and Cherokee County communities.
The SBCC Language & Culture program is committed to revitalizing the language and culture. Dadiwonisi is an immersive program paring adults with fluent speakers to preserve the language. Not only will the students of the program be learning the Cherokee language and cultural insights, they will also be providing the framework for language content of future learners. The program is also committed to approaching language revitalization at several areas. By having Cherokee language as part of the learning experience at Robbinsville Elementary School exposing students of all ages and cultural backgrounds to the indigenous language of the area to encourage the continuation of language learning. SBCC L&C is also committed to working collaboratively with other language initiatives such as the Snowbird Afterschool program to provide resources.
Goals
– Graduate Dadiwonisi Students as Intermediate High and above in language proficiency.
– Develop curriculum for Dadiwonisi 1st and 2nd years so that it can be shared and utilized by any teacher of the Cherokee language.
– Create opportunities for graduates to continue working in the language to teach, curriculum development and language documentation.
– Increase Cultural Awareness Activities within the SBCC service area.
Objectives
– To hire key staffing positions for the SBCC L&C Program
– To fill the roster of students for the Dadiwonisi
– Provide language content for program and EBCI
The Junaluska Museum
The mission of the Junaluska Museum is to share the rich history of Junaluska and Snowbird Cherokees through educational programming, interactive exhibits, and traditional demonstrations aimed to inspire cultural diversity and identity.
The Junaluska Museum has focused on rebuilding and reestablishing a physical and digital presence. Through digitizing our archives, we will be able to create an online museum platform that will hopefully gain community excitement and momentum for the new museum. We will continue to strive for Tribal Council support for our new building pressing the cultural importance that it has and will have on the Snowbird & Cherokee Communities. The program will continue to strengthen the CIRB through collaboration with the AG’s office and continue to create agreements with universities and external entities protecting the Tribe’s intellectual property.
Goals
– Digitize Junaluska Museum’s physical archives.
– The New Junaluska Museum building to achieve a complete cohesive design for construction documents.
– Strengthen the CIRB to provide a clear understanding of the Board’s purpose and scope.
– Solidify the Cultural Institutional Review Board (CIRB) into tribal code.
– Provide Historical/Cultural educational training to Dadiwonisi Language Learners to build language and culture capacity in the Snowbird community.
Objectives
– Kayleen Rockwood, EBCI member and graduate of WCU was hired as the Cultural Resources Coordinator.
– Collaborated with EBCI Natural Resources, RTCAR, and CDOT to evaluate the best practices to reclaim the trail system on Junaluska Gravesite.
– EBCI NR Earth Keepers and the Junaluska Museum have collaborated ensuring data collected from Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) projects are stored within the archives of the Junaluska Museum.
– The new Museum’s design collected complete community consensus and support for the new design.
Office Hours
Mon: 7:45am - 4:30 pm
Tues: 7:45am - 4:30 pm
Wed: 7:45am - 4:30 pm
Thur: 7:45am - 4:30 pm
Fri: 7:45am - 4:30 pm
Sat & Sun: Closed
