We Will Speak (2023)
Dadiwonisi (We Will Speak)
With fewer than 1,500 fluent speakers left, a small group of Cherokee activists race to save their language from disappearing.
94 min
The Cherokee language is deeply tied to Cherokee identity; yet generations of assimilation efforts by the U.S. government and anti-Indigenous stigmas have forced the Tri-Council of Cherokee tribes to declare a State of Emergency for the language in 2019. While there are 430,000 Cherokee citizens in the three federally recognized tribes, fewer than an estimated 2,000 fluent speakers remain—the majority of whom are elderly. The covid pandemic has unfortunately hastened the course. Language activists, artists, and the youth must now lead the charge of urgent radical revitalization efforts to help save the language from the brink of extinction.
- Release date
- March 23, 2023
- Country of origin
- United States
Cast
- Dakota Brown as Self
- Dakota Bryson as Self
- Kyle Chapa as Self
- David Crawler as Self
- Chad Cucumber as Self
- Schon Duncan as Self
- Cora Flute as Self
- Betty Frogg as Self
- Dehaluyi Gonzales as Self
- Keli Gonzales as Self
Crew
- Schon Duncan · Director
- Michael McDermit · Director
- Schon Duncan · Writer
- Michael McDermit · Writer
- Keli Gonzales · Producer
- Laura Heberton · Producer
- Matt Miller · Composer
- Jacob Koestler · Cinematographer
- Jacob Koestler · Editor