Native American Languages

The Native American Languages collection acts at the Sam Noble Museum of Natural History is a resource center for researchers, educators, and language advocates of Native American languages. The newest collection in the museum, it consists of a growing number of audio and video recordings, manuscripts, books, and teaching curriculum, lesson plans and materials. The unique archive of materials and activities sponsored by the Division are designed to assist Native American communities and teachers in the preservation, instruction, and revitalization of their languages. The Division is intended to be a resource center where the activities of scholars and community members can intersect and develop mutually beneficial relationships. It is also intended to be a place for public education, where the visitors can develop an awareness, appreciation, and understanding of the rich cultural and intellectual contributions of Native American languages.

The Division of Native American Languages has four fundamental goals:

1. To build a collection concentrating on oral and written Native languages of Oklahoma, and incorporating Native languages of North America and endangered languages world-wide.
   
2. To carry out research, especially the documentation of indigenous languages that are facing the rapid loss of speakers, and in the formulation, implementation, and evaluation of strategies for reversing the language shift.
   
3. To provide services to Native communities and language programs, such recording, archiving and migrating materials, language policy awareness, grant writing, and training in linguistics and Native language teaching and acquisition.
   
4. To educate the broader Oklahoma and world community on the history and continued importance of Native languages.

For requests and more information, please contact Dr. Mary S. Linn at 405-325-7588 or by email.

The Department of Native American Languages is saddened to report the passing of Dr. Carolyn Quintero on June 6, 2008. Carolyn was a native of Hominy, Oklahoma, and dedicated much of her professional career to the study and description of the Osage language. While an Affiliated Research Associate with the museum, Carolyn published the comprehensive Osage Grammar (2004, University of Nebraska Press, Studies in the Anthropology of North American Indians). Her dictionary of Osage will be published posthumously. Her passing is a loss to the academic and Osage communities. We have lost a valued colleague.

Personnel

Dr. Mary S. Linn, Assistant Curator
(Email)

Terri Jordan, Collections Manager
(Email)

Candessa Tehee Morgan, Graduate Research Assistant

Olivia Sammons, Graduate Research Assistant

Research Associates

Dr. Jason Baird Jackson, Affiliated Research Associate

Dr. Carolyn Quintero, Affiliated Research Associate