Cherokee Phoenix, April 2025
The name Mary “Meli” Rae may look familiar to anyone who has taken online Cherokee language classes with Ed Fields over the last several years. Rae, who attends every class from Cherokee 1 to 3, helps Fields and the language learners by providing resource links, translating and assisting with questions during class.
“You have a wonderful teacher, but there’s also a student who’s been through it on the English side of things,” Rae of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, said. “You know what it looks like from an English point of view. You know what they’re thinking. It’s just great to be a part of encouraging that. Students are the greatest.”
