Re: Cherokee linguist dies

Name    : 
E-Mail  : 
Subject : 

Comments:
: : : In my Birmingham News today there is an article about the Rev. Robert Henry Bushyhead.  If you would like me to post the article here, let me know.  Those of you from around the Cherokee, NC area may already be aware of this.  

: : ~~~~~~~~~~~~
: : Cherokee linguist Busyhead dies at 86

: : The Rev. Robert Henry Bushyhead, a noted Cherokee linguist and minister, died Saturday at age 86

: : Bushyhead was best known for his work to preserve the Kituhwa dialect of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.

: : In 1992, Bushyhead and his daughter, Jean, started recording the dialect on video and audio.  The recordings are used in Cherokee schools as part of the Cherokee Language Project, allowing Cherokee the opportunity to hear the language spoken correctly and fluently.

: : Busyhead was raised on the Cherokee Indian Reservation and was six when he first heard the English language.  In school, Bushyhead and other young Cherokee were forbidden to speak their native tongue.

: : Bushyhead refused to forget the Kituhwa dialect because he believed that language is the basis of culture.

: : "The loss of Robert Bushyhead to the perpetuation of the Cherokee language is immeasurable," said Cherokee historian Lynne Harian.

: : Bushyhead also portrayed Elias Boudinot for 18 years in the Cherokee drama "Unto These Hills."  Boudinot was the editor of the first newspaper that was written in an Indian language in the United States.

: : Bushyhead graduated from Carson Newman College and was an ordained Southern Baptist minister.

: : A funeral service is scheduled Tuesday in the Whittier United Methodist Church.

: ****

: Thanks, Theresa. This reminds me of the impact the death of Nora Dean Thompson had upon those who were working so hard to preserve the Delaware language in Anadarko, Oklahoma. She was the last full blood speaker & her knowledge of the culture, ceremonies, legends, etc. was irreplaceable. Her assistance did make it possible for a series of tapes of the Delaware language to be made. 

: E


Optional Link URL:  
Link Title:         
Optional Image URL: