The Cherokee National Youth Choir performing during the 57th Annual Cherokee National Holiday.

     The Cherokee National Youth Choir performs traditional Cherokee songs in the Cherokee language. The choir came into existence from the vision of Principal Chief Chad Smith, who saw it as a way to keep children involved in the Cherokee language and culture. They function as an important symbol to the world, demonstrating that Cherokee language and culture continues to thrive in modern society. Founded in 2000, the group has recorded eight CDs. The Youth Choir acts as ambassadors for the Cherokee Nation, their beautiful voices showing the strength of the Cherokee Nation and its culture more than 160 years after the Cherokees’ forced removal from its eastern homelands. The goal of the Cherokee National Youth Choir is to increase awareness of Cherokee culture both within the Cherokee Nation as well as among the dominant culture. Through the success of the Cherokee National Youth Choir, interest in the Cherokee language has been rekindled among young people throughout the Cherokee Nation. Several area schools now use the CDs as a learning tool and other schools are interested in developing curriculum to teach Cherokee language and music. Principal Chief Smith and Deputy Chief Joe Grayson have pledged to make preserving language and culture a priority at the Cherokee Nation.

     The success of the Cherokee National Youth Choir has helped spark a cultural renaissance among the Cherokee people. The Cherokee National Youth Choir is made up of 40 Cherokee young people from northeastern Oklahoma communities. The Choir members are middle and high school youth between grades 6 through 12. The students compete in rigorous auditions every year for inclusion in the Cherokee National Youth Choir. The Cherokee National Youth Choir is funded solely by the Cherokee Nation, and administered through Cherokee Nation Leadership Group.

The main online distributor for their award winning CDs can be found here at this link:  http://cdbaby.com

For more information about the

Cherokee National Youth Choir contact: youthchoir@cherokee.org or call 918-453-5638