Myrtle Driver Johnson (born May 21, 1944) (

Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI), (Cherokee language, Cherokee: ᏣᎳᎩᏱ ᏕᏣᏓᏂᎸᎩ, ''Tsalagiyi Detsadanilvgi'') is a List of federally recognized tribes in the contiguous United States, federally recognized Indian Tribe, ...

) is a

native Native may refer to: People * '' Jus sanguinis'', nationality by blood * '' Jus soli'', nationality by location of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Nat ...

speaker of the

Cherokee language file:Cherokee Speakers by County, 2000.png, 350px, Number of speakers file:Lang Status 20-CR.svg, Cherokee is classified as Critically Endangered by UNESCO's ''Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger'' Cherokee or Tsalagi (, ) is an endangere ...

. As of July 2019 she was one of 211 remaining Cherokee speakers in the

(EBCI). In 2007, her tribe designated Johnson as a Beloved Woman for her translations from English into the endangered Cherokee language, support of language classes, and development of materials and literature for teaching.

Language work

Johnson serves as the EBCI Tribal Council translator and has translated for the EBCI bilingual immersion school,

New Kituwah Academy The New Kituwah Academy (Cherokee: , '; ), also known as the Atse Kituwah Academy, is a private bilingual Cherokee- and English-language immersion school for Cherokee students in kindergarten through sixth grade, located in Cherokee, North ...

(NKA), since about 2006. For NKA, she translated the children's book ''

Charlotte's Web ''Charlotte's Web'' is a book of children's literature by American author E. B. White and illustrated by Garth Williams. It was published on October 15, 1952, by Harper & Brothers. It tells the story of a livestock pig named Wilbur and his frie ...

'', the first time the book had been translated into an indigenous American language. Johnson translated American author

Charles Frazier Charles Frazier (born November 4, 1950) is an American novelist. He won the 1997 National Book Award for Fiction for '' Cold Mountain''. Biography Early life Frazier was born in Asheville, North Carolina, grew up in Andrews and Franklin, No ...

's novel '' Thirteen Moons'' into Cherokee. It is loosely based on the life of

William Holland Thomas William Holland Thomas (February 5, 1805 – May 10, 1893) was an American merchant, lawyer, politician and soldier. He was the son of Temperance Thomas (''née'' Colvard) and Richard Thomas, who died before he was born. He was raised by ...

, and explores the sociopolitical events related to

Cherokee removal The Cherokee removal (May 25, 18381839), part of the Indian removal, refers to the forced displacement of an estimated 15,500 Cherokees and 1,500 African-American slaves from the U.S. states of Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee and Alabama to ...

in 1839. The novel was published by the Museum of the Cherokee Indian press. She narrated her Cherokee translation of ''Thirteen Moons'' for the audio book. She also narrated ''Tsogadu Nvdo'', a Cherokee-language audio book. Johnson has been active with language and culture camps for children and speakers gatherings for adults. She has also participated in the quarterly Cherokee Language Consortium, a gathering of the three federally recognized tribes to standardize new terms in Cherokee.

Views

Johnson was interviewed for the documentary ''First Language – The Race to Save Cherokee''. She said (in comments translated into English) that "the children are learning to speak Cherokee, and I feel the Cherokee language is important because the government sees the Indians, but doesn't see them as Indians if they don't speak their own language". Johnson toured the Cherokee Nation immersion school in Oklahoma before NKA was established. She was so moved by seeing a four-year-old read Cherokee words that she stepped out of the classroom to cry. In 2019, the Tri-Council of the three federally recognized Cherokee tribes declared a state of emergency with regard to the Cherokee language. This declaration included a resolution to work together on language revitalization, prompting Johnson to say "when they signed it, they made an agreement with us. They're going to help us. I'm not going to let them forget it."

Honors

The Beloved Woman honor, which is rarely given and the highest a member of the EBCI can receive, was given to Johnson in 2007.

Family

Johnson's two daughters, Myrna Climbingbear and Renissa McLaughlin, have worked with her on language revitalization. Renissa McLaughlin, also known as Renissa Walker, has managed the Kituwah Preservation and Education Program of the

Cherokee Preservation Foundation Cherokee Preservation Foundation is an independent nonprofit foundation established in 2000 as part of the Tribal-State Compact amendment between the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) and the State of North Carolina. The Foundation is fund ...

, overseeing NKA. Myrna Climbingbear died at age 56 in June 2018 from cancer.

Notes

References