To Save Their Endangered Language, 2 Cherokee Brothers Learn As They Teach

The Eastern Band Cherokee have been speaking their native language in the mountains of what is now North Carolina for more than 1,000 years. But today, most of the remaining speakers are over 50 years old. And many of those who teach the language — including Micah and his younger brother, Jakeli Swimmer — aren't fluent.

Like many other Native Americans, the Swimmers have been struggling to save their language from extinction. According to UNESCO, their Eastern Band Cherokee dialect is "severely endangered."

"If we're not speaking Cherokee, then what are we?"

About 40 miles away, in the small mountain town of Robbinsville, Jakeli teaches his Cherokee language and culture at a public elementary school. He travels from classroom to classroom, giving half-hour lessons on folklore and vocabulary using his own illustrated slides.