Doris McLemore

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Doris Jean Lamar McLemore (born 1927-2016) is the last fluent speaker o the Wichita leid,[1] a Caddoan leid spakken bi the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes, indigenous tae Oklahoma.

McLemore wis born on Aprile 16, 1927 in Anadarko, Oklahoma.[2] Her mither wis Wichita an her faither wis European-American.[3] McLemore wis raised bi her fullblood Wichita maternal grandparents, an Wichita wis her first leid.[4]

McLemore graduatit frae Indian boardin schuil in 1947 an spent 30 year wirkin as hoose mither there.[4] She married twice an haed a son an twa dochters.[4] In 1959 McLemore moved back tae live near Gracemont, Oklahoma tae live amang her relatives. In 1962, McLemore met David Rood, a linguist frae the University o Colorado, an they hae collaboratit tae preserve the Wichita leid iver since then.[3]

McLemore teaches leid classes for the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes[5] an is collaboratin wi linguist David Rood tae create a dictionary an leid CDs.[3]

“Doris is amazin for being able tae retain as muckle as she does athoot haein onyane tae speak it tae on a daily basis," says umwhile Wichita tribal chairman, Gary McAdams.[4]

References[eedit | eedit soorce]

  1. "The Last Living Speaker of Wichita : NPR" (Audio interview).
  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. Archived 2010-04-23 at the Wayback Machine Gáldu. (retrieved 3 Oct 2009)
  5. Wichita Language Class. Archived 2010-07-02 at the Wayback Machine Wichita and Affilied Tribes. 18 Feb 2009 (retrieved 3 Oct 2009)

External links[eedit | eedit soorce]