By SCOTT MCKIE B.P.
One Feather Asst. Editor
CHEROKEE, N.C. – Bo Lossiah is working every day to further the Cherokee language and encourages its use, and he approaches it all with a boundless energy and positivity.
Bo Lossiah, KPEP (Kituwah Preservation and Education Program) curriculum and education specialist, rings a bell in memory of the Cherokee Speakers of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians who passed away in 2024. This was part of the first annual Tsalagi Aniwonisgi Didanvdadisdi (Cherokee Speakers Memorial Day) event held on the morning of Nov. 26, 2024 at the Kalvgviditsa Tsalagi Aniwonisgi Tsunatsohisdihi (Cherokee Speakers Place), located adjacent to the New Kituwah Academy in Cherokee, N.C. (SCOTT MCKIE B.P./One Feather photos)
Last fall, Lossiah stood in front of the Kalvgviditsa Tsalagi Aniwonisgi Tsunatsohisdihi (Cherokee Speakers Place), located adjacent to the New Kituwah Academy in Cherokee, N.C. and rang a bell in memory of the Cherokee speakers of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) who passed away in 2024. It was part of the first annual Tsalagi Aniwonisgi Didanvdadisdi (Cherokee Speakers Memorial Day) event.
It was a solemn event and solidifies the importance of his fervor for language instruction and encouragement.
Lossiah, an EBCI tribal member, serves as the curriculum and instruction supervisor for the New Kituwah Academy. At the Cherokee Speakers Walk, honoring first language speakers of the Cherokee language, on April 19, 2023, he stated, “We’re not going to lose it. We’re not. We’re going to have an ear to it and the mouths are going to say it. You’ve got to know that in your heart, and you’ve got to believe it and you’ve got to want it.”
During that event, EBCI Beloved Woman Myrtle Driver Johnson, a first language Cherokee speaker, gave Lossiah the Cherokee name of Water Spider. She noted, “Water Spider is very suitable for him because he never stops. He’s always darting back and forth to get for us and do for us for what we need. We love him and we cherish him.”
Those words are very true. He never stops working. He never stops encouraging. He never stops being an advocate for the Cherokee language.
Lossiah is shown walking in the Cherokee Speakers Walk at the old Cherokee High School track in Cherokee, N.C. on April 19, 2023.
During that same event, Marie Junaluska, a first language Cherokee speaker and elder, commented, “Words cannot really express our feelings with all that you have accomplished and have helped us accomplish. It’s through your dedication in your endeavors for the success of the Cherokee language and the culture. Long live the Cherokee language and the culture.”
Lossiah values education and holds a bachelor of science degree in communications – electronic media and a minor in Cherokee Studies from Western Carolina University (2005). He has given presentations on Cherokee language and culture in numerous forums including ones for the NCAI (National Congress of American Indians) and WCU.
During an event several years ago in Cherokee where beginner Cherokee language books were distributed, Lossiah commented, “Our language is what binds us. It’s what binds us together. It’s what makes us a people. You go to France, they speak French. You go to Germany, they speak German.”
Lossiah is a huge Pittsburgh Steelers fan, and sorry, but I have to end this column on him with a quote from Packers legendary coach Vince Lombardi, “The only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary.”
That quote fits Lossiah to a tee as his work ethic is matched only by his enthusiasm and positivity.
