Hymns help preserve Cherokee language

While many Cherokee Indians practice the traditional religion and have revived it in recent decades, hymns and gospel music are also deeply ingrained in Cherokee culture. Perhaps ironically, the hymns help keep the Cherokee language alive. When linguistic and cultural anthropologist Margaret Bender studied the use of Sequoyah's alphabet (syllabary) by the Eastern Band of Cherokee in North Carolina for her 2002 book Signs of Cherokee Culture, she found "the Cherokee songbook or hymnal, a pocket-sized, all-syllabary book [was] carried around faithfully by most of the elderly Cherokees I knew."

Nor is it limited to old folks. Both the Eastern Band and the Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma actively use hymn singing to help younger adults and children learn the language. Bender explains how it helps them read the syllabary in language classes:

The hymns can be sung properly by those not fluent in Cherokee, because the song structure removes the pressure to produce accurate intonation and vowel length. ... But more important, for many hymn singers the words to the hymns have been familiar all their lives. Thus, although the hymnal is usually held and looked at, the songs do not really have to be read at all by most singers.

The Cherokee Nation also promotes hymn singing, and at the National Holiday celebration at Tallequah, Okla., in 2000 gave away CDs of Cherokee gospel singing. The CDs are still available in MP3 format on the official website.

Two cuts are by the Cherokee National Youth Choir, a group of 13- to 18-year-olds who sing a mixture of Cherokee traditional songs, gospel and Christmas songs. One of the purposes of the choir is to help the kids learn Cherokee, and an article in Canku Ota, a Native American newsletter, makes it clear adults and kids alike think gospel singing is a natural means to that end. A correspondent who attended the National Holiday sing in 2000 wrote:

Choir director Jan Ballou thinks that singing helps the kids become bilingual. "Really, this is a great way of preserving the language because it’s easier for them to learn through music," said Ballew.

Haley Noe, a ten year old from Leach, is one of the choir members who is mastering the music and the language simultaneously. "I’m having to learn the words as we go along," Noe said. "That’s why I like Beautiful Home [a gospel standard on the CD]. It doesn’t have as many words for me to learn."

Tawni Keys, an eleven year old from Tahlequah doesn’t have that problem. "I used to only get to sing Cherokee at church," she said. "Now I get to do it here, too."

A a prolile of the Youth Choir and its role in helping preserve the language is posted to the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development website at the John F. Kennedy School of Government. And information on their CDs is available on the A Cappella online recording catalog.