“The Cherokee language will die out within several generations if something is not done,” says Tom Belt, a Cherokee elder and part-time instructor of WCU's Cherokee Studies programming. According to a recent survey, 72 percent of fluent Cherokee speakers are over the age of 50.

But the Cherokee nation has found a powerful ally in preserving its language and heritage. Thanks to a growing partnership between WCU and the Cherokee Preservation Fund, much is being done to foster the survival of Cherokee culture and heritage.

The first phase of the partnership is the creation of the Cherokee Language Academy, a language immersion school funded by a $458,000 grant from the Cherokee Preservation Fund.

WCU is playing a key role in developing and staffing the new school. With funding from the Foundation, WCU is hiring linguists and native Cherokee speakers to develop language curriculum and certification programs, and will also actively recruit students to train as teachers.

The result is an ever-developing relationship between the university and members of the tribe’s Eastern Band. Cherokee elder Belt serves as “elder-in-residence” at WCU, while serving as a mentor and teaching classes in the Cherokee language.

He’s joined by graduate student and Eastern Band member Ben Frey, who is using modern linguistic research to create grammatical “rules” to help students learn Cherokee. Frey is exploring innovative techniques, including developing a Cherokee computer game, to help bring together this ancient culture and the best of modern pedagogy.

“I want to give something back to the tribe,” says Frey. “Language is one of the most solid identifying features a group of people can have.”