The Cherokee Nation and Prime Video are partnering to bring the Cherokee language to a global audience. As part of this collaboration, Prime Video is exploring ways for the largest Native American tribe in the U.S. to dub and subtitle select titles from its original content library into Cherokee.
Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. announced this initiative at an annual gathering of fluent, first-language Cherokee speakers, sharing that the first production to be translated into Cherokee will be the popular Prime Video series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.
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“In our efforts to preserve, share and promote our language, Cherokee Nation continually illustrates the importance of immersing both speakers and learners in Cherokee as much as possible, and not just in a classroom,” Chief Hoskin said. “This is the first of many endeavors in what we envision as an incredibly beneficial and long-term relationship with our allies at Amazon. Together, we are making great strides to bring the Cherokee language to a global audience.”
The Cherokee-dubbed premiere episode of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 1 will debut during a special screening on November 9 at SkasdiCon, held at Cherokee Casino Tahlequah. All episodes of the first season are expected to be available in Cherokee by Spring 2025.
Cherokee Nation’s Film Office and Language Department have led this initiative to bring the Cherokee language to mainstream global content, and they’ll continue working together to make more film and television content accessible in Cherokee.
“We are so excited to see the Cherokee language featured in such a prominent way,” Howard Paden, Cherokee Nation executive director of language programs, said. “This unique cultural collaboration with Prime Video can absolutely play a role in the helping us preserve and perpetuate the language. As we create modern content that is both engaging and entertaining, we are putting a real spotlight on the Cherokee language. This will be a series that our speakers can return to time and time again.”
The Cherokee Nation chose The Lord of the Rings franchise for its universal appeal and the technical challenges involved in translating the series into Cherokee. This initiative is part of the tribe’s strategic investment in its language-speaking community, creating opportunities for Cherokee language speakers and learners, and building dubbing expertise within the Language Department and Cherokee Film.
