Applications for the Master Apprentice Program are now available.

ᏣᎳᎩ ᎦᏬᏂᎯᏍᏗ ᏧᎾᏓᏂᎳᎨᎢ, the Cherokee Language Master Apprentice Program, is dedicated to creating new Cherokee language teachers through methodologies designed to honor and perpetuate the Cherokee culture and language, in order to develop intergeneration language growth. The Cherokee Language Master Apprentice Program (CLMAP) is an adult Cherokee language immersion program for novice learners who are paired with master-level fluent Cherokee speakers. 

Language apprentices participate in a Cherokee language immersion environment Monday-Friday, 8:00am - 5:00pm and receive an educational cash benefit as a part of this 40/hour a week program. The number of applicants selected is based on program availability. 

The program is a full-time, two-year commitment. Upon completion, participants are expected to be, at minimum, conversational in Cherokee in the intermediate mid category, as defined by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages standards. 

Interested individuals must meet the following criteria:  

  • 18 years or older  
  • Pass a youth sensitive background check
  • Possess a strong desire to aid in the perpetuation of the Cherokee language and culture, through teaching
  • Willing to participate in cultural activities
  • Available Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 5:00pm
  • Available to travel
  • 86% Mandatory Attendance
  • Spring 2026 CLMAP cohort will give special preference for early childhood educators and those that want to work towards early childhood education.  

Apply Online  
Tahlequah 
 
Apply Online
Kenwood 
note: Remember Kenwood only takes in one Cohort a year in the Fall. 

Frequently Asked Questions

CLMAP is located in two locations Tahlequah and Kenwood, OK. Though CLMAP is not available online, multiple online Cherokee language opportunities are available. For more information on online Cherokee learning, visit www.language.cherokee.org

https://language.cherokee.org/language-programs/cherokee-language-master-apprentice-program/ 

  1. Apply online to either location that best meets your needs 
  2. For the Tahlequah Location download the application and email to  
    don-dugger@cherokee.org or hillary-glass@cherokee.org 
  3. For the Tahlequah Location you can pick up an application and deliver to  
    Durbin Feeling Language Center 16489 US-62, Tahlequah, Oklahoma 
  4. For the Kenwood Location download the application and email to  
    don-dugger@cherokee.org or hillary-glass@cherokee.org 
  5. For the Kenwood Location you can pick up an application and deliver to  
    Durbin Feeling Language Center 16489 US-62, Tahlequah, Oklahoma 
  6. Please do not mail applications.

New cohorts are accepted into the Tahlequah CLMAP location twice a year, one Spring one Fall cohort. The Kenwood CLMAP location is once a year, in the Fall.

Typically, each cohort is made up of eight learners with a teaching team of three.

CLMAP practices a holistic approach to adult language acquisition through language and culture immersion. As often as possible, CLMAP participates in community events, cultural activities, through social and volunteer opportunities.

It is not recommended that program participants work or engage in other educational pursuits while in CLMAP.

Program participants receive a biweekly educational cash benefit to offset living expenses while in the program. Currently, participants receive $13.00/hour in the first year and 14.00/hour in the second year. This amount is subject to change.

Typically, eight participants are selected for each new cohort. Participants are selected first through an application and interview process. From that sixteen participants are selected to participate in a 2-day mock trial. This allows us to better engage with the applicates as well as give them a better idea of what is expected of them for the next 2 years if selected. If you are not selected, please apply again.

Yes, please reapply. Some program participants have applied multiple times before being placed into the program. Your application will not transfer from one application period to the next, though. Please submit a new application each time.

Second language speakers who graduate from CLMAP are able to talk about almost anything they want to discuss in Cherokee. It takes a lifetime to know as much Cherokee as our grandparents. However, the more committed and persistent a language apprentice is, the more proficient they become.

CLMAP is dedicated to meeting the needs of Cherokee language classrooms throughout the Cherokee Nation, specifically the Cherokee Language Immersion School. CLMAP graduates have gone on to work at the Cherokee Language Immersion School, area public schools, area universities, adult immersion programs, and language curriculum programs.

Updated January 28, 2026