Copyright © 2000 NLThomas
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TAHLEQUAH, OK - Eleven students are participating in a groundbreaking college level course at the Cherokee Heritage Center this summer.

The Cherokee Clemente Course is the result of a partnership between the center and the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma. USAO, located in Chickasha, is the only liberal arts college in the state system. The instructors are tasked with the development of a nine-hour course which offers a Cherokee approach to the humanities.

"As a Cherokee educational center, we are honored to participate," said Mary Ellen Meredith, interim executive director of the Heritage Center. "This course does what we always try to do – present material from a Cherokee perspective."

Earl Shorris, an author and editor at Harpers, developed the course to introduce Cherokee youth to college courses through the humanities and to teach them critical thinking.

"I like the comparison between the classics and Cherokee literature," said Kathy Harmon, a student in the class. "I never realized before how much language influences our thinking."

The Cherokee Nation Clemente Course is taught in English and augmented by a Cherokee speaker. The course covers Cherokee language, thought and practice in comparison to selected readings in the great books of Western Civilization. Its purpose is to "empower Cherokee students to participate more fully in the political and economic affairs of the Cherokee Nation, the state, and the United States."

For more information, please call Mary Ellen Meredith at 456-6007.

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Mike Miller, Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma Director of Communications Phone: (918) 456-0671 (ext. 2210) FAX: (918) 458-5580 Related paths: * Cherokee Heritage Center P.O. Box 515; Tahlequah, OK 74465 Phone: 918-456-6007 ~ FAX: 918-456-6165 E-Mail: tsalagi@ipa.net * Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma * The Cherokee National Holiday Labor Day Weekend, 2000

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