Article explains the viewpoints of American Indians on languages. Included are charts documenting the amount of Native speakers of each of the known American Indian languages

Battle, John H.

Underhill, Lonnie E.

Gateway to Oklahoma History

Classification of Indian TribesCLASSIFICATION OF OKLAHOMA INDIAN TRIBES:LANGUAGE STOCKS, POPULATION, AND LOCATIONSBy Lonnie E. Underhill and John H. Battle*"American Indian" is a loosely constructed term attached toethnic groups ranging north from Alaska, south to Florida, eastfrom New York, and west to California. The government does nothave a general legislative definition of an Indian that can identifya person as an Indian (the term "administrative" or "official" of-ten designates those eligible for federal assistance). For censuspurposes, an Indian has been identified on a self-declaration basis.If an individual did not declare his race, the enumerator hascounted him as an Indian if he appeared to be a full-bloodedAmerican Indian or-if of mixed Indian and white blood-wasregarded as an Indian in the community in which he lived. 1Fairly accurate census counts are available through the Bu-reau of Indian Affairs offices where Indians appear on tribal andagency rolls. 2 The Bureau of Indian Affairs sets the number ofpersons of one-quarter or more Indian blood in the United Statesat 452,000. 3 A total of 65 tribes moved to the Indian Territory,present Oklahoma, as a result of a series of treaties with thefederal government from 1830 through the 1870's. Currently,72,400 Indians live in Oklahoma, representing 48 distinguishabletribes. This places Oklahoma third in the United States in totalnumber of Indians. 4The languages these tribes speak constitute varieties which* Lonnie E. Underhill is an instructor of English and is working on anadvanced degree in English at Oklahoma State University. John H. Battle isa visiting Professor of Linguistics at Oklahoma State University and holdsa Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin, Texas. The authors wishto thank Mrs. Tammy Gann for her assistance in preparing the manuscript.1 United States Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs,Answers to your Questions About American Indians (Washington, D. C.:Government Printing Office, May, 1968), p. 2, hereafter cited as Answers.2 Bureau of Indian Affairs offices release reports periodically concerningup-to-date census counts among tribes which are currently living on or ad-jacent to federal reservations. Tribes which have terminated land units nolonger have accurate tribal rolls. United States Department of the Interior,Bureau of Indian Affairs, United States Indian Population (1962) and Land(1963) (Washington, D. C.: Government Printing Office, November, 1963),pp. 1-4, 24-26 and United States Department of the Interior, Bureau of In-dian Affairs, Estimates of the Indian Population Served by the Bureau ofIndian Affairs: September 1968 (Washington, D. C.: Government PrintingOffice, March, 1969), hereafter cited as Estimates.3 Estimates4 Estimates197The Chronicles of Oklahomaare more diverse than those of the entire continent of Europe.5The number of distinct languages spoken by Indians in theUnited States is difficult to determine for lack of exact distinc-tion between language 6 and dialect. 7 The number of existinglanguages was set at 147 in 1941. In the last 25 years that num-ber has reduced due to the extinction of some tribes. On thebasis of common Indian words or languages, there are eightmajor Indian linguistic groups. These are the Algonquian, Iro-quoian, Caddoan, Muskhogean, Siouan, Penutian, Athapascan,and Uto-Aztecan. Within each of these linguistic groups, distinctsocial and cultural similarities are typical. 8 There are no exactfigures on the speakers of the various Indian languages. Reliableinformation on the proportion of monolinguals, bilinguals, ornon-speakers of an Indian language is also in demand. A shiftin language is apparently taking place in communities whereIndian languages are becoming less frequently used, eitherthrough generational differences in language use or languagefluency by disuse. An intensive effort to conserve these languagesseems necessary if they are to be saved from extinction. 95 Tribes among North American Indians originally meant a body ofpersons bound together by blood ties who were socially, politically, and re-ligiously organized. These persons lived together, occupying a definite terri-tory, and spoke a common language or dialect. With the placing of Indianson reservations, the word "tribe" developed a number of different meanings.Today it can be a distinct group within an Indian village, or community, theentire community, a large number of communities, several different groupsor villages speaking different languages but sharing a common government,or a widely scattered number of villages with a common language but nocommon government. The Bureau of Indian Affairs counts 263 Indian tribes,bands, villages, pueblos, and groups in states other than Alaska as beingeligible for federal help. Answers, p. 3.6 The dictionary definition for "language" is "the words, their pronun-ciation, and the methods of combining them used and understood by a con-siderable community." In 1492, there were about 300 different languages spo-ken by Indians in what is now the United States. Generally, the speakersof one such language could not understand the others. Approximately 50to 100 languages exist today. Answers.7 The dictionary definition for "dialect" is "a regional variety of lan-guage distinguished by features of vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciationfrom other regional varieties and constituting together with them a singlelanguage."8 Sirarpi Ohannessian lists the following 13 language families: Eskimo,Athabaskan, Salish, Penutian, Hokan, Uto-Aztecan, Kiowa-Tanoan, Ker-san, Siauan, Caddoan, Muskogian, Iroquoian, and Algonkian. Sirarpi Ohan-nessian (ed.), The Study of the Problems of Teaching English to AmericanIndians (Washington, D.C.: Center For Applied Linguistics, July, 1967), p.10.9 William E. Bittle, "Plans for a Linguistic Survey of Oklahoma," TheChronicles of Oklahoma, XXXI, No. 2 (Summer, 1953), pp. 214-217.198Classification of Indian TribesAttitudes Indians take toward language and language learn-ing are important. Some tribes believe that the Indian childknows his language at birth and does not require tutoring; 10 othertribes believe that linguistics must be acquired through exposureand usage. Many Indians believe that there is a distinct rela-tionship between race and language and that Indian blood is aprerequisite for learning an Indian language. By the implicationthat race, language, and blood are inter-related, some Indianscould have difficulty in learning English as well. Also, on theother hand, this problem can reverse for the English speakingIndian desiring to learn his native Indian language.Today many Indian children start to school knowing Eng-lish, a generalization not made a few decades ago. If the trendcontinues in this direction, soon very few Indian children willhave any exposure at all to their native languages. Indian lan-guage knowledge has a tendency to interfere with the Indianstudent's adjustment and learning processes when he begins theprimary grades. English learned by these young Indian childrenthrough their first-generation, monolingual, English-speakingparents often lacks vocabulary and language background, creatingconfusion for the child. The highly artificial usage of formalEnglish in the classroom adds to the already established con-confusion.Since language associates itself with a cultural and socialcontext and forms a very important aspect of language acquisi-tion, the Indian deserves an opportunity to learn his native lan-guage. The common usage of English in almost all transactionsdoes not promote an ideal cultural setting for Indian languagelearning. Some Indians have learned their native languages re-gardless of the environment and have fought the resistance ofassimilation to the American culture brought by the white maninto the Indian cultures.Both acceptance and rejection of assimilation exist today.This varies with the attitudes of the individuals and groups in-volved. The size of the group, its proximity to the communitiesof non-Indian culture, and their blood mixtures are other factorswhich affect their assimilation. Some Indians seem to be activelystriving for assimilation and do not regard the culture of themajority as one imposed on them. Other Indians actively orpassively reject it. Nevertheless, the number of those Indianswho can speak, read, or write their native Indian languages isdeclining at a rapid rate.Besides those given above, other definitions of "Indian" are10 Ohannessian lists the Mojave as an example.199200 The Chronicles of Oklahomapossible-for example, the Census Bureau employs a culturaldefinition, counting persons who report themselves as Indian(or who are so regarded by the community) regardless oftribe or residence. Different definitions lead to different statistics,so there is no one answer to the question, "How many Indiansare there?" However, the following table provides populationestimates of Indians resident on, or adjacent to, federal reserva-tions in Oklahoma. Since data can only be estimated at best, thefigures which represent the most accuracy relate to "administra-tive" or "official" Indians, who are eligible for services from theBureau of Indian Affairs. Generally, these Indians are membersof tribes with federal trust lands, who have one-quarter or moreIndian blood, and who live on a federal reservation, a formerreservation, or adjacent lands.Classification of Indian TribesHO - a Ha0 O - 40a)0 'H --ai UO G O 0 P4 -- p -H --4)r c • -) oo Ha) c -a )p CO r 4 P O " -- w H U " • - Q . C •U'a O •a 00 a O • O O aa)a H U 00 OH a)1- H a ) U 0O ^ v1 .C Ox.C bo Ca a ^-G -u p 5 -0 0. 00 -0 0 a0 0.a)UO >% G O C • 4 W • G .7 r- p, rl " mA O H 0 O a • ) O O • " 0 a ) C 40G o O r- O C:O Oq G - O3p3t )0u00H3UZUU 3 M A pq A 3 UQ O OOY O Mo 00 0z d .CO a O 1- OH PQ a r- b aO Go u o 0O C0 0 U0 O a 0 O C-O ri ,C 0 H- N 0 oH 4000 40 AH0 a )H H 0 4W E- W O O HF z•O0 OZ 0 00W a)• )a 4 a4 0. C aA' 0h) drl|A.H P0Z 0On CW' HP4 H0d a) a) C0 0.aM o 0 4-)aO < - 0 a)w' H cad a)iCHH A a) a) Ha)) a) 4) .0 a) OH HO O 0 0HPaa0Oc0crC0O002010OzOH0-COzOHQO)UOH-aP40aH00<|aWHHAz0OaOHOHHa-C0 0a) HC G01 aa) 0'0 a• -a aole0 0 ')0I60-0Sa.0n cO .Ca) a)W"O.4))) 'a)>.04 Ola)0C) ri °0 I CIA .I aiO coOW- OHIaa wH H 0 O ao "o w aoO -> a)00 AH C) CI•aCla 0 )a)IZ0.)HO O c0 C0 a p HHH 0Ia) j )HHH))a)I "000 alH O 0I• IM C O |+ u m d r. Gl O0 0 U) "+ M4).-- I r-O O•o O 1 .C a i..aOa)•H0O.0mH009a)00a.0C404" OOa 41cd OOD Ga~a0 0iJ C-W O•b Na +0 0CO'O UC -nG 'GM 3to w0 0Cd Cd> >a a3 QHFEn0aAee 3(c4CThe Chronicles of Oklahomao0 4-Jc0 0 o) U 4 0O 30 •- .O 0• 004 0 '0 -H •O O0)0 04-) 0 :j000 ) 00)00 )0a)0 w -O -H O o C 3 -r5 :0 H a)•• "" • E p X E •1 ..C 5 0-0 O-•0O - 0 0 0 -0 O) - 0 w4 " H 4• J U O -. C 4- 0 0 4-JH 0 < 4 0 -00 c 0 00 0 U C0 3 U 0 o o-0 co o a 00 -0 co 3 00 a) C UOS -H 4-J3 0 o 4-1- r *H4-. 30 co 0 - 00 JI O d b r 4-4000 0 w 0 4 c0o a) a) 3 IJ0 4- ) W-~-º- 3 - • ' U4-J 0 0 w 3 4 - c a) 4- P P $ .4 • O0 00) o ) 00 0 0 0 O 4-J 4- .C )0 O 0 4- 000)0 3 z p U P4 U P U 3 02; O O EH L4 P0 0O OO O --O 00 O 03 O JO Lr) 000 0 r0 a  -0O N O0N u1 r- IlH 00  + + O O0 0 0 0 0 0 0% - 0OH O o- 0' 0 CO M O 0Lr r N IH a r-IP44-0 -7 -P4 °00000 0 o OO 0 -Hw. o " 5a0 +-J a) 0H 0 ).a a) Q)ca) c+A -r o 00a a) ar- ) a -C7cd U 30 -H H 00 ) 4J 0 a)A A |0 O Pa coc-000) 0a wa)4-J a ) ao a) O NPi) o O a) 0) 0 -H 4 `aCO ) 0 C a) a  a) $4 a4NOH o-4a 0 a 4 O •r 0H).. -H -H w P 0 O 0 a)H OC ~ 0 0 4 0'- C0400202203Classification of Indian Tribes- 0 0) o. 0 'CO 0% '00D-)O o •s• '-I O 0 0|O O -U b • 7 .b O a•N. 2 0 0 O O4H'r-4 C) U HP4 CO Z O O -0 U 0zx+I"r rZ 0 04- •-*~ 0 ' 0 0 60'O ' 0 0z 04 0 *C-z o*C '0 c 0 0 E3 C'O '0 OHP o P '4 M O "•C C bb O COH CO U 0 *1O 4 O ~ ) U " "w.Mo.< 0 0 3 oo0 .00 O 3 0 00 'O -Ha0 a) 0 0 .00 '0 •- 'O -H ' 0 13o o) 0)HH 3e 3)o 0 0)0) o 0) lo 0). cO (1) O0130 0r ) 3 .0 O 0 JJ.0 0 4 . ) 0) 4H - 30 G.0 yo >) C-- U ' 0 CU ~ 0.0 00 0. Co l .C 4 w- 4- o . "C 0 o cOC 01o H OH 4 10U o vO 0U d w0i U C0 3 0o0o o %D0 O~ 0 0o 0 0ors N Ln LonE-1 O u1 0 O " Qo ' o rs' oO 0 L) ri 0% Ln 0 0 -T r- 0H- H- H- H1 0 rH H M~ -IT H- H(I, 00000) C0) 0)U o oJ I a1 aQ '0d '00) 0) 00 0)l ' 'OO 0 0. H0 . ) 0o 4o C CO0 ) m .H0) ) 0 H) 0)0. 4 -4- oO G C 00 ) U -o 40) 43i En 4.4 0) 'Ca C 4 MO<) 0) 0) 0 0Z- C -00O0) 00 .0)H UThe Chronicles of OklahomaC. OC, O U C0 r I '0 '0 '0 U oco u a) 0o ) ' 'O ' 10 4 '00 S)0 < boa c wo c) wo X. 4 bV/ 2 • O O O 0 a) c)xj .I -O -- . • "co r. 0 /b4 'H 'H0a) 0 - - a)E 00 o ZC0 o b OcH c bH 4-1 a)- o c | a) '0a 'a) 0- 'N'H 4 N-i 'HQ)a) a) 4a) " J~~ .i,i a) 4a ) 04 a) 0 P) U 10 co 0 G 4.4H • ) .a) f-i '0 a)o) oa) e 00C~ 00. a) 0"4 •a) -- e a) 4- C1 o r N D j U co 3 •- CO • 4j C •p0 a ) c o - 4 o 04-i '0 1 o 4Q O aC'4 p.a p., C)O 3 O 3 C) 0, 24 4 O 3 C)O oO 00 - r- Ha a) a Nbo0 o,UO 0 0c bao  a boos O O o0 U O --a' N-- -It 4-i -? 4-i MS0i O c- N2 " -x ) 0 o l 0 00 CD O 0 K 40 i 0 400 O r.10 0 uO1o i O' 0 O a) % M0 (N )0 O 1/2 No H 0-4 Ha o0 V - 2 o' r'-/o C o 0HEnN 0w -I 00rIp4 -a .CO s • oH 0 e tS'0- a PQ o Cd co4p., a )U 3 3 U 3 A U M4C,) 002aw 0) QH, 'H ' H bo0 0)0 boH 0 90~ ,0 ,o 0 ,0- 0 4' Q)- N0 0H 0o 0 OaaC) a)I )4 0 o -H -H H a) 3) 3a)-E-+ 0/0/ 23 x3 2 , 20Cr)'H 0)x204Classification of Indian Tribes 205..c.0CCU)4r C 4JQ) 0 - CO 0) . ^.bo •0 .w . U "^ ) HEn C O O 0 • O O 0 O • C0 •0 Oz 4 U • ,y CO O o oo •0 cd C Cd ^0 Q)O ̂ OU ..0 U ^ O ^ o) oH CO < a) U o )U) Ci0 o H " C M U(L) Hr1 CU a) oUH - J Q U . -OOC UU U U) 000 n C O ::s 4-1 Q) ) H - .C Q 0QO 4 Q x ::$C :jb 4J 40 N :)4-0Cr-UCU H0J U H Q) :.C:$ 4J A 44o0 0 .C > 04-J o o UOU4 H ).O 4a • a ooi H -4C4o U 00 0 o o 4aJCU 4-o o o 4- o o-x U0UH Lr 00 00~- °P.)~ C'o~ ~ 3I C OOo o o NHU U)-j CO C o -rA C ,d 4 4 0 4J C 03x. CU CU 44zCUOC 3Hr CU "*HCU 4 (C 3 4-) HC. CU H 4.CC~ i.0 CUO- 0 ..0 H Ci 0 U) 4j COH 0H Ucd 4- cUCO a, C C A•H E 4 0 0 0G00 CU0 4-4 Cc7 aThe Chronicles of Oklahomaa) 0 . U"O -H ~~O 4-O O . o-" 41 Wa 0 C.0 O 4- 0 T Cw0 C w4)'0 COC UO C a) zEn 0 0 Ur 0a) *- cd d U 0 4o .z •4 Ca) Q 0 0 C. C .H w . d •rU c c C d 4 o U uH . O M ri )4j0 0 0I a)0$4 0 O *a o 0 a)cd w a O .CdN 4j AC O . U 4.an N - C.C a.J. -4. 3 0 b w p :> • ao •ra a O a).C-r4 .C C '-4 CCC Si O a) OCr. - a) c 0.C ! a cd00 Cd 0 0a) 4) cd c 0)CC0 - t.0 0 du•i u r - 0 0•XPI c cd . d • a~ . : ua ' a s O 'PA M d L)N O O OM O O,-I I O $M an r. Cn O O n IO0- 0\ 160 N aN M. r'-o C.anM D an an 0C. 0 2 •r c- .ranOOHUW N a ) .0 a) a) a a).C0 C C) 0 ) H au - a Cd ) c c0 3O a C H Cy .0 c0 OS n U U H H UNcd40O Cca)to)ON H- .0" a)CO 0 0 0o orasaH 4. EI +)4. 3 c0 a) CH~- zn an U U~d °a 0 0a)C 0206Classification of Indian TribesQ)m . a ooO +J O • +J -E-d m c< " .- C 0d 4 7 aO C:7&.Ca2O O • c 4) O O COCaUOZ O E-4 4-oO 00m nO3 ui O Ooo .t0 -co rE4O N r-E-+UH 60 0 .Ca 0a0 a CWJWS CO .CO 3E - 0 E-4 E- >-HO 0 H H .CS o o oE (0 O' E -HH d 0- uH H° He HCCOL~) H UOC7 E207The Chronicles of OklahomaBIBLIOGRAPHYAnadarko Area Indian Tribes-"Population and Percent Native LanguageSpeakers Estimates" (Mimeographed report released through AnadarkoArea Indian Office and dated July 15, 1969).Bittle, William E. "Plans for a Linguistic Survey of Oklahoma," Chroniclesof Oklahoma, XXXI, No. 2 (Summer, 1953).Boaz, Franz. Handbook of American Indian Languages, Bulletin 40, PartsI, II. Washington, D. C.: Government Printing Office, 1911.Boaz, Franz. Introduction to Handbook of American Indian Languages. Lin-coln: University of Nebraska Press, 1966.Bonnerjea, Biren. Index to Bulletins 1-100 of the Bureau of Ethnology.Washington, D. C.: Government Printing Office, 1963.Hodge, Fredrick Webb. Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico.Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, September, 1912.Murdock, George Peter. Ethnographic Bibliography of North America. Sec-ond Edition. New Haven: Human Relations Area Files, 1953.Ohannession, Sirarpi (ed.) The Study of the Problems of Teaching Englishto American Indians. Washington, D.C.: Center For Applied Linguistics,July, 1967.Tax, Sol. The Indians of North America. (1950 Distribution of AboriginalPopulation, prepared by Sol Tax).United States Department of Commerce. Bureau of Census. 1960 Censusof Population, Oklahoma, Vol. 1. Washington, D.C.: Government Print-ing Office, 1960.United States Department of the Interior. Bureau of Indian Affairs. Answersto your Questions about American Indians. Washington, D.C.: Govern-ment Printing Office, May, 1968.United States Department of the Interior. Bureau of Indian Affairs. Estimatesof the Indian Population Served by the Bureau of Indian Affairs: Sep-tember 1968. Washington, D.C.; Government Printing Office, March,1969.United States Department of the Interior. Bureau of Indian Affairs. Indiansof Oklahoma. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office.United States Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs. UnitedStates Indian Population (1962) and Land (1963). Washington, D.C.:Government 'Printing Office, November, 1963.Wright, Muriel H. A Guide to the Indian Tribes of Oklahoma. Norman:University of Oklahoma, 1951.208

Chronicles of Oklahoma

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Chronicles of Oklahoma

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