By SCOTT MCKIE B.P.
One Feather Asst. Editor
CHEROKEE, N.C. – Scarlett ᎩᎦᎨ Guy is a wonderful ambassador for language learning showing that learning the Cherokee language is not only possible but is occurring daily.
Scarlett ᎩᎦᎨ Guy is shown speaking at the first annual Tsalagi Aniwonisgi Didanvdadisdi (Cherokee Speakers Memorial Day) event on the morning of Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024 at the Kalvgviditsa Tsalagi Aniwonisgi Tsunatsohisdihi (Cherokee Speakers Place), located adjacent to the New Kituwah Academy in Cherokee, N.C. She wrote the legislation that designated the day. (SCOTT MCKIE B.P./One Feather photos)
A member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI), she served as Miss Cherokee (2023-24), is a graduate of the CLMAP (Cherokee Language Master Apprentice Program), and is currently the adult language educator in the CLMAP of the Kituwah Preservation and Education Program (KPEP).
The first time I interviewed Guy was in 2018 as she had been chosen as the valedictorian of the Cherokee High School Class of 2018. At that time, she stated, “I’m just extremely grateful that it was Cherokee High School that I was able to get my diploma from and be valedictorian of because of all the opportunities that they offer to their students here. They want every student to do well and be well and succeed. Because of all of these opportunities and being able to find community in clubs and groups made me stand out as a competitive student to colleges.”
She made the best out of her opportunities and furthered her education at Duke University where she graduated in 2022 with a bachelor of arts degree in evolutionary anthropology with a minor in linguistics and a certificate in documentary studies.
Her passion for language learning runs deep. I wrote about her running for the title of Miss Indian World last month, and she shared her excitement to be able to share the Cherokee language on a national stage. “It is important to me to share how learning the Cherokee language has helped me and other second language learners gain more insight into how our ancestors viewed the world. I believe this is true for all Indigenous languages. I want to inspire everyone across ᎠᎹᏱ ᎠᏰᏟ to learn their people’s first language so that all the knowledge held by our languages continues on.”
Dinilawigi (Tribal Council) passed Res. No. 212 (2024) on June 6, 2024 making Tsalagi Aniwonisgi Didanvdadisdi (Cherokee Speakers Memorial Day) an official EBCI tribal holiday that will be observed each year on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving.
2023-24 Miss Cherokee Scarlett ᎩᎦᎨ Guy is shown speaking at the ribbon cutting ceremony of the Cherokee Speakers Place (Kalvgviditsa Tsalagi Aniwonisgi Tsunatsohisdihi), located adjacent to the New Kituwah Academy in Cherokee, N.C., on the morning of Friday, Feb. 16, 2024.
Guy, who submitted the resolution, spoke during the first annual event held on the morning of Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024 at the Kalvgviditsa Tsalagi Aniwonisgi Tsunatsohisdihi (Cherokee Speakers Place), located adjacent to the New Kituwah Academy in Cherokee, N.C. “We’re gathered to honor our speakers who have passed this past year, and we’re gathered here to honor our language.”
She also commented, “I wrote this resolution because all of us want to honor and remember our Cherokee speakers and all that they do to contribute to our tribe and our people and our culture.”
Guy is always committed to sharing the Cherokee language whenever possible. At the Annual Kituwah Celebration, held at Kituwah – the Mother Town of the Cherokee – on May 31, 2024, she read a piece about Kituwah that she wrote, with help from Charlie Bigwitch, a Cherokee first language speaker. She read the piece first in the Cherokee language and then in English.
She said, “I’m standing here, the Kituwah town is beneath my feet and the Kituwah mound is here behind me. But, it’s beneath all of our feet. All of us are standing here with our town, our Mother Town, right here and with our mound, our Mother’s Mound, right behind us. I think that’s important to keep in mind. Today, let’s all be thinking about the importance of Kituwah and what it means to our people. I’m glad that we are all here, that we are all home, the place where we all began.”
“We began as one, we return as one.”
