Choctaw Language and Culture by Marcia Haag

Potential Threats to Choctaw Language Maintenance While they encourage their children to hone their communications skills in English, most Choctaw parents also make sure that their sons and daughters speak Choctaw as well. It is in the Choctaw communities and homes, though, where the language is most deeply rooted. Their earliest memories are likely to include stories in Choctaw, the sound of Choctaw hymns, and the cadences of Choctaw speech and laughter as the family gathered in the evening to discuss the day’s events.Ī part of daily life on the Reservation, the Choctaw language may be heard in Tribal schools and administrative offices. Many grew up with grandparents and other relatives who spoke Choctaw most of the time. Many of today’s Choctaw adults and elders learned to speak Choctaw before they learned English. The language links modern Choctaws to their ancestors, offering a common vocabulary and way of looking at the world.

The Choctaw language is an essential element of the Tribal culture, tradition and identity. The Choctaw are of two distinct groups, the tribe (in Mississippi) and the nation (in Oklahoma). They are also remembered for their generosity in providing humanitarian relief during the Irish Potato Famine decades before the red cross was created. In the nineteenth century, they were known as one of the “ Five Civilized Tribes,” because they had integrated numerous cultural and technological practices of their European American neighbors. The Choctaws, or Chahtas, are a Native American people originally from the Southeastern United States ( Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana) of the Muskogean linguistic group. So inspiration for this piece of art was abounding. Their wisdom was beyond measure and the privilege of knowing them… a treasure. I was also blessed to have known many of my very special great-aunts and great-uncles in addition to my wonderful aunts and uncles and also knew two of my great-grandmothers, both of whom lived to be almost 100 years old. It is said that our life will impact 4 generations after us by how we choose to live our life and by what influences we choose to leave behind… positive or negative. Grandparents (and all our elders) give us such “ gifts” and it is our duty to pass those gifts on to the next generations.

The relationship I had with my grandparents has always been very important to me and I wanted to reflect that important relationship between grandparents and grandchildren (also, between elders and children in general) in this piece of art. The subjects are the Mississippi Choctaw. I was very honored to be asked to create the2nd Choctaw Language book cover titled: Choctaw Language and Culture: Chahta Anumpa Volume 2 (Paperback) by Marcia Haag (Author), Henry Willis (Author).

Choctaw Language and Culture by Marcia Haag