Echt critical editions and digital repository [eastern cherokee histories in translation (echt) is a project to translate, annotate, and contextualize handwritten eastern cherokee social documents for…

The National Endowment for the Humanities awarded Western Carolina University $350,000 on February 1, 2026, under the Promotion of the Humanities Research program (CFDA 45.161) to translate, annotate, and contextualize handwritten Eastern Cherokee social documents for a limited series of critical editions and a public digital language data repository. The project, titled Eastern Cherokee Histories in Translation (ECHT), will preserve word-for-word translations created during the translation process for future Cherokee language study. The materials encompass the largest body of primary Cherokee language sources documenting the history of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians from the mid-nineteenth century through the early twentieth century. Performance takes place in North Carolina with a period of performance from February 1, 2026, through January 30, 2029.

Echt critical editions and digital repository [eastern cherokee histories in translation (echt) is a project to translate, annotate, and contextualize handwritten eastern cherokee social documents for a limited series of critical editions and a public digital language data repository. The repository will house the word-for-word translations that are created as part of the translation process, preserving them for future cherokee language study. The materials in the scope of the proposed series are the largest body of primary cherokee language sources documenting the history of the eastern band of cherokee indians (ebci) from the mid-nineteenth century through the early twentieth century.]