For the first time in its 182-year history, Duke University is taking a groundbreaking step in preserving and promoting indigenous culture.
Starting this fall, Duke’s Trinity College of Arts & Sciences will offer a Cherokee language course, marking a significant milestone in the recognition and revitalization of Native American languages in higher education. This initiative not only enriches Duke’s diverse curriculum but also acknowledges the complex history between the university and American Indian education.
Here’s what we know about the course so far.
About the Cherokee language course
According to an article in Duke Today, The Cherokee language course at Duke University is set to be a unique and immersive experience for students.
The introductory course, Cherokee 1, will be offered this fall, followed by Cherokee 2 in spring 2025. Intermediate courses are planned for the 2025-2026 academic year, allowing students in Duke’s Trinity College of Arts & Sciences to satisfy their foreign language requirement with Cherokee.
The course will be taught by Gil Jackson, a first-language Cherokee speaker who grew up learning dialects spoken by both the Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians of North Carolina. This broad linguistic background allows Jackson to teach a wide range of Cherokee language variations, benefiting students from different Cherokee communities.
While Cherokee 1 will primarily be an online course — a necessity for many less commonly taught languages — students will have opportunities to meet with Jackson in person on campus and during a field trip to Cherokee. Jackson resides in nearby Snowbird, making these in-person interactions possible.
The course goes beyond mere language instruction. As Courtney Lewis, the Crandall Family Associate Professorship Chair in the Department of Cultural Anthropology and inaugural director of Duke’s Native American Studies Initiative (NASI), explained to Duke Today, “When you’re studying the Cherokee language, you’re learning philosophy, science, and cultural practices.” This holistic approach aligns with the Cherokee belief that language is intricately tied to identity and way of life.
Historical context and significance
The introduction of this course carries particular weight given Duke’s history.
From 1882 to 1887, Trinity College (which later became Duke University) ran the federally funded Cherokee Industrial Indian Boarding School, enrolling 20 children of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. This was part of a broader, controversial system of Indian boarding schools that sought to assimilate Native American children into dominant American culture, often through brutal means that included punishing children for speaking their native languages.
Lewis acknowledges this painful history: “Trinity College started as a religious institute and federal boarding school that specifically had the policy of eliminating Indigenous languages and Indigenous culture — in this case, those of the Cherokee people. … There is a moral and ethical component of teaching and bringing this language back to Duke.”
The course’s introduction is part of a broader movement to preserve endangered indigenous languages. With Indigenous languages in the United States critically endangered, this initiative represents a crucial step in language revitalization efforts.
For Native students at Duke, like Naomi Goldson T’27, a member of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, the course is a welcome acknowledgment of Native presence and culture on campus. “This is an acknowledgment that there are Native people here, this isn’t a dead language, and this isn’t a dead culture,” Goldson said in the article.
Looking ahead, there are plans to expand the program. The course is seen as a key component of Duke’s Native American Studies Initiative, which officially launched in July 2023. As Lewis poignantly notes, “This reclaiming will send reverberations across generations. And that’s something that very few other language classes can do.”
For North Carolinians and the broader academic community, this course represents more than just an addition to Duke’s curriculum. It’s a step towards acknowledging and celebrating the diverse cultural tapestry of our state and nation, ensuring that the Cherokee language and culture continue to thrive for generations to come.
