Cherokee Language Bowl

Tribe announces Language Bowl winnersRecently 14 teams from several area schools displayed their knowledge and understanding of the Cherokee language as they competed for top honors in the Cherokee Nation’s annual Cherokee Language Bowl.

Coordinated by the tribe’s Johnson-O’Malley program, the competition is designed to promote the study, use and retention of the Cherokee language in young people. It is open to schools in the tribe’s jurisdictional area to students in grades kindergarten through 12 who are eligible to participate in the JOM program.

“Our cultural competitions were developed for cultivating the ground for students of the JOM program to know and understand more of who they are and where they come from,” Shelley Butler-Allen, CN JOM program director, said. “The Cherokee language is a very critical element for a student’s self identity and tribal identity, so we feel like these competitions help plant the seed for them and for their future.”