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A Kansas City high school will teach the Cherokee language

How did Kansas City vote in the 2023 municipal elections? Plus: Many Indigenous languages are at risk of dying out after centuries of forced assimilation. Now Kansas City Public Schools and members of the KC Indian Center are trying to change that by bringing the Cherokee language to East High School.

Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas sailed to reelection in Tuesday's municipal election. The new city council will also welcome seven newcomers. KCUR's Celisa Calacal has the full election results.

East High School in Kansas City will offer Cherokee this fall to help pass an endangered language on to the next generation. Like many other Indigenous languages, the Cherokee language is at risk of dying out after centuries of forced assimilation.

Host Nomin Ujiyediin sat down with KCUR education reporter Jodi Fortinoto learn more about the school's decision and why it plays such a fundamental role in keeping the language alive.

Contact the show at news@kcur.org. Follow KCUR on Twitter and Facebook for the latest news.

Kansas City Today is hosted by Nomin Ujiyediin. It is produced by Paris Norvell, Byron Love and KCUR Studios and edited by Gabe Rosenberg and Lisa Rodriguez.

You can support Kansas City Today by becoming a KCUR member: kcur.org/donate

As a newscaster and a host of a daily news podcast, I want to deliver the most important and interesting news of the day in an engaging and easily understandable way. No matter where you live in the metro or what you’re interested in, I want you to learn something from each newscast or podcast – and maybe even give you something to talk about at the dinner table.
Paris Norvell is a freelance podcast producer for KCUR Studios,
As an on-demand producer, I am focused on using my skills and experiences across multiple digital applications, platforms and media fields to create community focused audio, video and on-demand products for KCUR Studios. The media that I produce aims to inform, entertain and connect with the Kansas City metro area as we continue to learn from each other. Email me at byronlove@kcur.org.
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