Participants warm their legs by doing the Cherokee Friendship Dance prior to the start of the 5K Walk/Run for Cherokee Language Revitalization held at Kituwah, the Mother Town of the Cherokee, on the morning of Saturday, March 28. (SCOTT MCKIE B.P./One Feather photos)
By SCOTT MCKIE B.P.
One Feather Asst. Editor
KITUWAH – With a nice breeze blowing over Kituwah, the Mother Town of the Cherokee, the sound of the Cherokee language was in the air on the sunny spring morning of Saturday, March 28. Madison Hye Long, a member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) and Cherokee second language learner, organized the 5K Walk/Run for Cherokee Language Revitalization – an event she hopes will become an annual event.
Along with over 20 other members of the EBCI, Long attended the World Indigenous Peoples Conference on Education in New Zealand last year and was able to gain a new perspective.
Madison Hye Long, a member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and Cherokee second language learner, addresses the crowd at the beginning of Saturday’s event which she organized.
“That was really how I thought of the glass half full than half empty. It’s like right now we’re always focused on ‘the numbers are dropping’, but we still have it. So, we have to act now and that’s why I wanted to do this event. Because, out in New Zealand they were like, ‘you can’t wait. If you have something, you have to make it happen now because you don’t have time’. That really sat with me.”
Long is passionate about language learning and sharing her passion with the EBCI community. “I’ve been learning the language for about three years now – along with the other language warriors, I like to call them – within the adult language program. Right now, I’m working as an advanced linguist apprentice and we’re trying to really crack down and break apart the Cherokee language and really starting to study Cherokee grammar.”
The idea for the 5K event came to her while she was running.
“Let’s move the language to another realm of just Cherokee identity. I think health is a big thing in our community now. I know a lot of us struggle with diabetes, obesity, and even depression. I talked with Tom Belt and he said, ‘this run you’re doing, it’s for mind, body, and soul because whenever you run that’s a form of medicine’. So is learning the language. So, that’s why I’m doing this is to build up our people. And, I think one way of doing that is learning the language and getting healthy.”
Long is positive about the future of the Cherokee language. “I really think we’re in a language revolution as Cherokee people – Eastern Cherokee people, specifically. I know Cherokee Nation is doing a really good job and we’re right behind them. I have hope because I have the co-workers I have. I get emotional thinking about it.”
Elawodi (Yellowhill) Rep. Shennelle Feather and Meona Feather, sisters, have fun while participating in the 5K walk/run. Both are Cherokee second language learners.
Participants at Saturday’s event ran the gamut of Cherokee language knowledge – from first language speakers to beginners. “Today we have Frank Cucumber and Elnora Nations (both first language speakers)” said Long. “The speakers always show up for us so we’ve got to do the same.
Just do it. If you have something you want to do for your community, don’t wait, do it. That’s what had me thinking of this 5K for language revitalization. The month of March is Indigenous Languages Month for our tribe. We need to do more stuff for this month.”
Long thanked all of the volunteers who helped her with the event and the sponsors who supported the event including: Kituwah Preservation and Education Program (KPEP), EBCI Dinilawigi (Tribal Council), Noquisi Initiative, Cherokee Bottled Water, Cherokee Choices, and the Ray Kinsland Leadership Institute.
“I’m truly grateful. Having everybody here makes my heart so warm. We’re all here for language.
This is our Mother Town. This is where we began as Anikituwah people. Just think about where you are, know place, and just appreciate where you are. Give thanks to this mound.”
The event included board games played in the Cherokee language.
Participants warmed their legs just prior to the start of the 5K by doing the Cherokee Friendship Dance which was led by Landon French, an EBCI tribal member and teacher at New Kituwah Academy – the Cherokee language immersion school of the EBCI. Levi West, Jack Cooper, Mike Thompson, and Ashford Smith sang the Friendship Dance song for the participants.
Students from New Kituwah Academy sang the United Cherokee Anthem at the start of the event.
Long said language learning is a community activity where everyone should help each other. “We all just need to help each other. So, if you’re struggling to pronounce something, look to your neighbor and say, ‘hey, how do you say this?’ and they’ll help you. This is how we need to start living as Cherokee people – helping each other and learning from each other. We don’t have to have AI. We don’t have to have Google. We have each other to learn from.”
The 2025-26 EBCI Royalty was on hand for Saturday’s event. Shown, left to right, are Junior Miss Cherokee Keilani Arch, Miss Cherokee Marcela Garcia, Little Miss Cherokee Alessandra Ramirez, and Teen Miss Cherokee Ava Walkingstick.
