Event Series: Indigenous Languages Initiative

2024 UNESCO Decade of Indigenous Languages Lecture Part 2 

Rainy Brake was the first certified teacher in the EBCI New Kituwah Academy Cherokee Immersion Program, and is currently Cherokee Language Instructor at Western Carolina University's Cherokee Language Revitalization Program. Rainy has a BA in English Literature and a Graduate Certificate in Cherokee Language.  Rainy also studies the effects of language immersion pedagogy on language acquisition and culturally sensitive curriculum development, as well as childhood and adult language acquisition, and play-based pedagogy with Total Physical Response methods.

Rainy will discuss Cherokee language, language loss, and revitalization initiatives. She will also guide us through a Cherokee language lesson so we can all introduce ourselves in Cherokee!

The Institute of Native American Studies, the Latin American and Caribbean Studies Institute, the Linguistics Department, and Georgia Public Broadcasting are partnering to bring indigenous language speakers and educators to UGA.

The UNSECO Decade of Indigenous Languages 2022-2032 is a global initiative to emphasize the value and importance of preserving and revitalizing indigenous languages and the bodies of knowledge they carry. 

More information on UNESCO Decade of Indigenous Languages 2022-2032 is available here.