The unique contributions of speaker scholarship to the study of Sahaptian languages in the Columbia Plateau have rarely been considered a domain of inquiry in the field of linguistics. In the present study, I utilize a discourse-centered approach to investigate the ways in which an indigenous language is employed as a resource in the creation of texts. I examine the status of Sahaptin language use in a series of unpublished texts produced by X&dotbelow;ilux&dotbelow;in (Charlie McKay, 1910--1996), a multilingual Sahaptin speaker and scholar from the Umatilla Indian Reservation of northeastern Oregon. I account for the merging of internal indigenous linguistic forms with writing in two occurrences: language documentation and individual expression. The study found that, when a Sahaptin speaker writer transfers his or her internalized language to the written form, Sahaptin discourse and world view play a key role in its outcome
