Cherokee as My Foreign Language

Above is a portrait of Sequoyah, the son of a Cherokee chief's daughter and a fur trader from Virginia, was a warrior and hunter and, some say, a silversmith. For twelve years he worked to devise a method of writing for the Cherokee language. His syllabary of eight-five symbols, representing vowel and consonant sounds, was approved by the Cherokee chiefs in 1821, and the simple utilitarian system made possible a rapid spread of literacy throughout the Cherokee nation.
UNC offers Cherokee as a foreign language and I have taken Cherokee 101 this semester and plan to take 102 in the spring semester. Even though I am not Cherokee, I was really interested in learning a Native American language since my language was lost throughout the years. At first it was a difficult and confusing, but I have studied hard and I am finally understanding the language. I hope to continue to take Cherokee throughout my UNC years, and in hopes study abroad to the Eastern Band of Cherokee in North Carolina and to Oklahoma.