Ani-Kituhwa-gi , A Nation within a Nation ( Part 2 )

IN 1879, Captain R. H. Pratt opened the first Native American boarding school. Indian children throughout North America were taken from their homes, given white names, wardrobes and haircuts and forbidden to speak any language but english. In 1893 the Cherokee Boarding School was founded but also maintained an english only language with devastating effects on the Cherokee fluency. It wasn't until 1933 that a language initiative grant was awarded from the Cherokee Preservation Foundation to foster the Cherokee language through the Qualla Boundary and beyond. The language of the Cherokee may yet prove to be as resilient as those who have kept it alive.