Bushyhead, Robert H., 1914-2001

<p>
The Rev. Robert Henry Bushyhead, a Cherokee linguist best known for his work to preserve the Kituhwa dialect of the Eastern Band of Chrokee Indians, has died. He was 86.</p>

<p>Bushyhead, who died Saturday, and his daughter started recording the dialect on video and audio in 1992. The recordings are used in Cherokee schools as part of the Cherokee Language Project, allowing Cherokees to hear the language spoken correctly and fluently.</p>

<p>Bushyhead was raised on the Cherokee Indian Reservation and was 6 when he first heard English language. In school, Bushyhead and othher young Cherokee were forbidden to speak their language.</p>

<p>Bushyhead refused to forget the Kituwha dialect because he believed that language is the basis of culture.</p>

<p>"The loss of Robert Bushyhead to the perpetuation of the Cherokee language is immeasurable", said Cherokee historian Lynne Harlan.</p>

<p>Bushyhead also portrayed Elias Boudinot for 18 years in the drama "Unto These Hills", performed each year in Cherokee. Boudinot was the editor of the first newspaper that was written in an Indian language in the United States.</p>

<p>Bushyhead graduated from Carson Newman College and was a Southern Baptist minister.</p>

<p>31. July 2001, South Coast Today - by the Associated Press</p>


<p>Baker Roll 1924</p>
<p>Busheyhead Robert, M, 12, 15/16, Son, Whittier, NC
Parents:
Busheyhead Ben, M, 40, 7/8, Husband, Whittier, NC
Busheyhead Nancy, F, 40, 4/4, Wife, Whittier, NC
Brother:
Busheyhead Joel, M, 15, 15/16, Son, Whittier, NC</p>

<p>Son of:
Ben Bushyhead, born 14. May 1886, died 15. June 1969,
Whittier, Jackson Co., NC and
Nancy Bushyhead</p>

<p>Husband of:
Ruth C. Bushyhead, born 15. Dec. 1922, died Nov. 1974</p>

<p>Paternal Grandfather of:
David Allen Bushyhead II, born 6. Dec. 1975, died 27. March 2001</p>

Robert Bushyhead (1914-2001), born in the Birdtown Community of Cherokee, N.C., was punished at the Cherokee Government Boarding School for speaking Cherokee and made a decision not to teach it to his children. Later in life, however, he became a champion for preserving the Kituhwa dialect of the Cherokee language. He was a Baptist minister and played the role of Rev. Elias Boudinot in the outdoor drama, Unto These Hills about the Cherokee removal, including an act where he speaks in Cherokee.