Myrtle Driver Johnson

Myrtle Driver Johnson (born May 21, 1944) for her translations from English into the endangered Cherokee language, support of language classes, and development of materials and literature for teaching.

Language work Johnson serves as the EBCI Tribal Council translator and has translated for the EBCI bilingual immersion school, New Kituwah Academy (NKA), since about 2006. Johnson translated American author Charles Frazier's novel Thirteen Moons into Cherokee. It is loosely based on the life of William Holland Thomas, and explores the sociopolitical events related to Cherokee removal in 1839. The novel was published by the Museum of the Cherokee Indian press. She narrated her Cherokee translation of Thirteen Moons for the audio book. She also narrated Tsogadu Nvdo, a Cherokee-language audio book. She has also participated in the quarterly Cherokee Language Consortium, a gathering of the three federally recognized tribes to standardize new terms in Cherokee.

Johnson toured the Cherokee Nation immersion school in Oklahoma before NKA was established. She was so moved by seeing a four-year-old read Cherokee words that she stepped out of the classroom to cry. This declaration included a resolution to work together on language revitalization, prompting Johnson to say "when they signed it, they made an agreement with us. They're going to help us. I'm not going to let them forget it."

Honors The Beloved Woman honor, which is rarely given and the highest a member of the EBCI can receive, was given to Johnson in 2007.

Family Johnson's two daughters, Myrna Climbingbear and Renissa McLaughlin, have worked with her on language revitalization. Renissa McLaughlin, also known as Renissa Walker, has managed the Kituwah Preservation and Education Program of the Cherokee Preservation Foundation, overseeing NKA. Myrna Climbingbear died at age 56 in June 2018 from cancer.