Myrtle Driver Johnson is a 1964 graduate of Haskell Institute, Lawrence, Kansas and has training in Museum Science, Leadership Development, Native American Studies and Business Administration.
She retired May 31, 2008, after working for the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians for 19 years. Her last position with the Tribe was Cultural/Traditional Specialist.
Myrtle’s first language is Cherokee, and has taught Cherokee for a total of 10 years. She presently translates children’s books into Cherokee for the New Kituwah Language Academy. She also translated into the Cherokee language, the Removal section of Charles Frazier’s latest novel “13 Moons”.
She is the Indian Clerk for Tribal Council and records the meetings into the Cherokee language and has held this position for seven years.
On June 7, 2007, the Tribal Council for the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians bestowed upon her the highest honor that a Cherokee woman can receive, Beloved Woman of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, for her efforts in preserving the Cherokee culture, traditions and language.