Doris McLemore

Doris McLemore
Born April 16, 1927 (1927-04-16) (age 84)
Anadarko, Oklahoma
Known for last fluent speaker of the Wichita language

Doris Jean Lamar McLemore (born April 16, 1927) is the last fluent speaker of the Wichita language,[1] a Caddoan language spoken by the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes, indigenous to Oklahoma.

McLemore was born in 1927 in Anadarko, Oklahoma.[2] Her mother was Wichita and her father was European-American.[3] McLemore was raised by her fullblood Wichita maternal grandparents, and Wichita was her first language.[4]

McLemore graduated from Indian boarding school in 1947 and spent 30 years working as house mother there.[4] She married twice and had a son and two daughters.[4] In 1959 McLemore moved back to live near Gracemont, Oklahoma to live among her relatives. In 1962, McLemore met David Rood, a linguist from the University of Colorado, and they have collaborated to preserve the Wichita language ever since then.[3]

McLemore teaches language classes for the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes[5] and is collaborating with linguist David Rood to create a dictionary and language CDs.[3]

“Doris is amazing for being able to retain as much as she does without having anyone to speak it to on a daily basis," says former Wichita tribal chairman, Gary McAdams.[4]

References

  1. ^ "The Last Living Speaker of Wichita : NPR" (Audio interview). http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=18532656. 
  2. ^ "Last fluent speaker of Wichita tribal language preserves what's left." Dallas Morning News.
  3. ^ a b c Ruckman, S. E. "Tribal language fading away." Tulsa World. 26 Nov 2007 (retrieved 3 Oct 2009)
  4. ^ a b c d Somby, Liv Inger, published USA: The Last to Speak Wichita Language. Gáldu. (retrieved 3 Oct 2009)
  5. ^ Wichita Language Class. Wichita and Affilied Tribes. 18 Feb 2009 (retrieved 3 Oct 2009)

External links