One of the best experiences I have had in my time at Yale is learning Cherokee. In my Fall semester of Freshman year, I entered Introductory Cherokee and entered a space that would entirely shape my Yale experience in nothing but magical ways.
A fun-fact about me and my Yale story is that Cherokee is actually one of the major reasons I chose Yale. When I was deciding which college I would attend in the stressful month that was April of 2023, I remember reading an article which announced that Yale would be offering Cherokee for credit in the Fall. In doing so, Yale became the first and only Ivy League university to offer a Native American language for credit. At the very end of the month, when I finally accepted my offer of admission, Cherokee was one of many things I anticipated when I did it.
Hallway of the Humanities Quadrangle to the classrooms in which Cherokee I and Cherokee II were taught.
Through a hectic first-year, Cherokee provided stability that I was desperately in need of. Professor Del Percio and the rest of my Cherokee classmates created a space that felt comfortable, welcoming, and in some small way like home. In the class, I didn’t just learn the Cherokee language; I learned more about the culture, history, and practices that were somewhat similar to that of my own tribe - Chickasaw. For example, every semester, we spent a week at the Native American Cultural Center weaving baskets, which was as fun as it was culturally affirming and informative.
Me sitting in a community space within the Native American Cultural Center where the wall is painted with the flags and crests of Native tribes throughout the nation.
Learning Cherokee is more than just learning the syllabary or how to construct sentences, though; it’s a different way of viewing the world - a way I believe many people would greatly benefit from. Language classes leveled one through three meet every day of the week, including Friday, and while many dislike that policy, coming into Cherokee everyday was never a chore for me. It was something I looked forward to. All three semesters, Cherokee was my last class of the day, and no matter what kind of day I had prior, Cherokee class, the language, and the people in it always had a way of calming me down and bringing me peace. It felt like daily meditation, all while participating in something incredibly valuable.
Learning Cherokee is intensely important in ways unspeakable. Cherokee, like all Native American languages, is greatly endangered. Because of that, learning Cherokee isn’t just a credit, and it isn’t just fun (though of course it is, in part, both) but a revitalization. Every day of Cherokee, for me, was laced with such purpose, as I knew that every time I came into the class, I was preserving something precious. That attitude was shared by the other students, and it created something special, both in and out of the classroom.
Coming to Yale, which was the least Indigenous place I have ever called home and far, far away from the Chickasaw Nation, I wondered what place my identity would have in my life and experience. Cherokee is one of many ways I have found and expressed my identity, history, and culture at Yale. I would encourage all students to take Cherokee, Indigenous or not, but there are so many other opportunities for people of every background to find their people and place in New Haven.
Yale has special things called Cultural Centers. Among these are The Native American Cultural Center, The Afro-American Cultural Center, La Casa, The Asian American Cultural Center, and the Middle Eastern and North African Cultural House. Each of these Centers serve as spaces for community and connection within the diverse Yale student body. They host a plethora of events for the students who identify with their respective groups. Yale is unique in having such spaces. I, along with many of my friends, have noted how many other Ivy League universities and universities of similar size lack such numerous spaces.
Cherokee and the Cultural Centers have been at the heart of my Yale experience. Learning Cherokee is something that I am endlessly happy I have had the opportunity to do, and it’s a life experience I will forever cherish. Outside of Cherokee, the Cultural Centers have been the home of some of my greatest Yale memories (and at times, my greatest naps).
