Long before the world had ever heard of COVID-19, the Cherokee language was in trouble. Last year, the three tribes in the U.S. declared a state of emergency because there are now so few fluent speakers. That includes the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians in Western North Carolina. Here’s how the pandemic has impacted the teaching of the language: The New Kituwah Academy started in 2004 to teach a new generation of fluent Cherokee speakers. Like other schools, the pandemic caused educators to