TAHLEQUAH, Okla.—The North Tulsa Cherokee Community Organization will host weekly language classes on Thursdays at the Community & Cultural Outreach (CCO) community building in North Tulsa, and the North American Fellowship Inc. will host classes on Tuesdays at the CCO community building in South Coffeyville.
“We’ve worked hard to revitalize and preserve our language, and now we must ensure that every Cherokee citizen and community has access to learning it,” said Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. “Whether they are here in Tahlequah, Tulsa, Oklahoma City, or in another state, all Cherokees have the right to study and speak their language.”
The North Tulsa Cherokee Community Organization previously met at the Tulsa Dream Center, but under the Hoskin / Warner administration, a new 4,000-square-foot community center celebrated its grand opening during Black History Month this year.
The building is located at 1205 East 46th St. North, Tulsa, Oklahoma. North Tulsa language classes will be held every Thursday from June 18 to August 20, from 5-7 p.m. The course is free and open to the public. Registration for this course can be completed online.
The Coffeyville language classes will be held every Tuesday from June 16 to August 18, from 5-7 p.m., at 215 Oklahoma St., South Coffeyville, Oklahoma. Registration for this course can be completed online.
Cherokee language teacher Ryan Mackey will be the instructor for both courses.
“I’m very excited for the North Tulsa and South Coffeyville communities to have access to this class with a great instructor. Chief Hoskin and I remain dedicated to spreading the Cherokee language far and wide, across Oklahoma and at-large,” said Deputy Chief Bryan Warner.
By pairing the community language courses with the tribe’s Cherokee Nation Community & Cultural Outreach, participating organizations like NAFI and NTCCO, Cherokee Nation officials see opportunities for stronger community organizing as well as language revitalization.
“Activities like language classes hosted by our CCO participating organization allow those organizations to recruit community members to sign up as organization members,” said Deputy Secretary of State Canaan Duncan. “The community organizing impact for North Tulsa and South Coffeyville will remain long after these classes have wrapped up.”
The community language classes stem from the tribe’s landmark Durbin Feeling Language Preservation Act, the Hoskin / Warner administration legislation that has injected hundreds of millions of dollars into revitalizing the Cherokee language.
To learn more about Community Cherokee Classes, contact the Cherokee Nation Language Department at 918-207-4900 or email