Nevaeh Smith & Jariah Eyachabbe

Fourteen-year-old Nevaeh Smith and thirteen-year-old Jariah Eyachabbe are two young Chickasaw citizens acting in the Nation's new Rosetta Stone Chickasaw language lesson video series.

With over 65,000 citizens but fewer than 50 native speakers, the Chickasaw Nation hopes this online program will help to preserve the language for generations to come. The series features 40 immersive lessons to help citizens learn conversational Chickasaw phrases. Led by Joshua Hinson, Director of the Chickasaw Language Revitalization Program, Rosetta Stone Chickasaw wouldn't have been possible without the expertise of native speakers Rose Shields-Jefferson, Jerry Imotichey, Stan Smith and Pauline Brown.

Nevaeh and Jariah both have limited knowledge of the Chickasaw language but say they were both incredibly excited to take part in the series. They even got to share the experience with their family; Nevaeh’s mother Kara and Jariah's father Jason play the parents in the Rosetta Stone Chickasaw videos.

Nevaeh says she's proud to help others learn Chickasaw and says the language now holds a very special place in her heart. Jariah, too, says he wants people to use the Rosetta Stone Chickasaw lessons to help spread the language and keep it alive.