Marie Junaluska
Cherokee language specialist	Cherokee, NC (Qualla Boundary)
CherokeeLanguageTraditional Songs
Marie Junaluska speaks Cherokee fluently and writes the Sequoyah syllabary. In her presentations, she introduces the Cherokee language, incorporates activities based on Cherokee history and culture, and teaches songs in Cherokee. She enjoys working with groups of all ages.
Growing up in the Wolftown community of the Qualla Boundary, Marie Junaluska spoke only Cherokee until she attended the Soco Day School at age seven. She spent her high school years at boarding school in the Riverside Indian School in Anadarko, Oklahoma, where she met people from many Indian nations. Since the 1980s, she has taught the Cherokee language to students in Cherokee schools. From 1981 until 1996, she served as the Indian Clerk and Interpreter for the Tribal Council, training with Maggie Wachacha, the previous Interpreter. Since 1997, she has served as an elected member of the Tribal Council of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, representing the Painttown Community.
Marie Junaluska has presented educational programs throughout North Carolina, Tennessee, and Georgia. She is an outstanding translator and educator and has worked with Special Collections at Western Carolina University, translating articles in the Cherokee Phoenix (published 1828-1834) from the Cherokee syllabary into English. One of Marie Junaluska's translations into the Cherokee language and syllabary was featured in Living Stories of the Cherokee. She has served as a consultant on many projects, including the permanent exhibit at the Museum of the Cherokee Indian, the museum's website, and film projects by Disney Imagineering. She helped the Smithsonian Institution develop a Cherokee Indian exhibit for the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C.
Marie Junaluska adapts her presentations to audiences of all ages. Her presentation requires a black or white board, pointer, and flip chart. Her fees are negotiable, and she is willing to travel anywhere if travel expenses are reimbursed.
School or Classroom Programs