Ahyoka Youngdeer is a Keetoowah culture bearer, two spirit activist, ceremonial leader, and among the youngest of less than 1,400 first-language fluent Cherokee speakers. Through the COVID pandemic, she worked as a medical clerk and Cherokee interpreter in the WW Hasting ER. Currently, she is a Cultural Curriculum Specialist at the Cherokee Nation Durbin Feeling Language Center. She is passionate about the perpetuation of her language, life ways, and pre-colonial ideologies which have been passed down through the generations. Over the past two decades, Ahyoka has had the honor of traveling to various locations coast to coast educating Natives and non-Natives alike, through numerous grassroots presentations regarding Cherokee language revitalization, her personal journey as a two spirit trans* woman, processing intergenerational trauma, cultivating inclusivity, and creating positive progressive social change on her reservation and abroad. Her contributions to the Indigenous and Queer communities at home and beyond have been an inspiration for those young people coming up after her, which has always been the Keetoowah Cherokee way.
She is dedicated to educating the community and reminding all that two-spirit peoples have a place in our communities and that the Keetoowah way of life still has a place in this world. Ahyoka believes that it is time to undo the colonial lies Indigenous people have been told through conscious decision making.
EVERYDAY HEROES: Local woman crowned Miss International Two-Spirit
by Hannah Emberton Tahlequah Daily Press Nov 20, 2024
“In her words, Ahyoka Youngdeer is a “ᎩᏚᏩ person,” living by “the old ways” to the best of her abilities. She grew up surrounded by Cherokee elders who instilled important values within her that she carries to this day. Now, Ahyoka follows their example, sharing her knowledge and teaching the Cherokee language. As a Two-Spirit woman, Ahyoka also provides a voice in her community where representation is needed. Although she navigates the world with a complex identity, it is Ahyoka’s Cherokee foundation that grounds her in all her pursuits, including her quest for the International Miss Two-Spirit crown.”
