Cherokee Immersion Middle School to open on Monday

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. — The Cherokee Nation will open its new School of the Seven Directions Cherokee Immersion Middle School on Monday.

Construction on the more than 66,000-square-foot middle school began in August 2024 as part of the Hoskin/Warner Administration’s Durbin Feeling Language Preservation Act.

The tribe said previously, all pre-K through eight-grade students attended classes at the Durbin Feeling Language Center. Starting this year, fourth through eight graders will move to the new middle school, while students in third grade and below will continue classes at the Durbin Feeling Language Center.

Classes at the new school are set to begin on Aug. 27.

The tribe said the middle school was built with Cherokee tradition mind. There are over a dozen classrooms and the courtyard has a playground, stickball field and an art patio. The campus includes a gym with a basketball court, an open media center, a cafeteria with a stage, specialty art classrooms that are equipped for art, music, dance, wrestling, life-skills, pottery, a science lab, a STEM lab and more.

The courtyard and specialty classrooms will also be utilized by the students at the Durbin Feeling Language Center and the Greasy Immersion School students.

Thompson Construction Inc. were the contractors for the project and Blue River were the architects.

The tribe said the school features are entirely in the Cherokee language, with no English on signage or spoken in the school.

You can learn more about the Cherokee Nation Language immersion schools by contacting the Language Department at 918-207-4900.