Languages Represented: The collection materials are in Choctaw and English
Collection Date Range: 2008
Creators: Israel Richard Adams, Leo Adams, Rhoda Anderson, Ellis Carnes, Paula Wilson Carney, John W. Durant, Abe Frazier, Lillie Jessie, Bob Ludlow, Christine Ludlow, Rebecca Nahwoosky, Eveline Steele, Henry Willis, Dorothy Gibson-Van Horn
Extent: 37 items
Abstract: Audio oral histories originally recorded in 2008 and featuring the voices of more than a dozen elders from the Choctaw Nation.
Acquisition Information: These records came to the Sam Noble Museum in 2010 and were deposited by Marcia Haag.
Access Restrictions: The records are open to research. Contact the NALC at 405-325-3332 or language.samnoblemuseum@ou.edu.
Cite As: [item], catalog number, Chahta Anumpa Aiikhvna/School of Choctaw Language Collection, Sam Noble Museum Department of Native American Languages.
Collection Scope and Contents:
The Chahta Anumpa Aiikhvna/School of Choctaw Language Collection is an audio/print oral history collection. There are 17 recordings in all totaling more than 7 hours of audio documentation of the Choctaw language, a Muskogean language traditionally spoken by the Choctaw people of the southeastern United States.
The recordings were made in 2008 in Ada, Boswell, and Red Oak, Oklahoma as part of a DEL (Documenting Endangered Languages) grant through the National Science Foundation. Accompanying the recordings are full print transcriptions in Choctaw and English.
Among the recordings are interviews with members of the Choctaw dictionary committee by members of the Cherokee Nation. In addition are stories, narratives and commentaries that capture the life experiences of Choctaw people as told in their own words. They include recollections of:
- Farm and prison work in early 1900s Oklahoma
- Being Choctaw and attending boarding school during the Great Depression
- Hunting
- Encounters with ghosts
There are also stories about food, including recipes for making “banaha” and “Tansh Hauwashko” – traditional breads of the Choctaw people.
The collection features the voices of a wealth of Choctaw elder speakers, including Israel Richard Adams, Leo Adams, Rhoda Anderson, Ellis Carnes, Paula Wilson Carney, John W. Durant, Abe Frazier, Lillie Jessie, Bob and Christine Ludlow, Rebecca Nahwoosky, Eveline Steele, Henry Willis. Dorothy Gibson-Van Horn and Eveline Steele provided the transcriptions and translations.
| Catalog # | Title |
|---|---|
| CHA-001.001 | Narratives and commentaries |
| CHA-001.002 | Narratives and commentaries (transcription) |
| CHA-002.001 | Audio interview with members of the Choctaw dictionary committee by members of the Cherokee Nation |
| CHA-002.002 | Audio interview with members of the Choctaw dictionary committee by members of the Cherokee Nation |
| CHA-003 | Uncle's work life (transcription) |
| CHA-004.001 | Owatta |
| CHA-004.002 | Owatta (transcription) |
| CHA-005.001 | Hattak Yuskololi |
| CHA-005.002 | Hattak Yuskololi (transcription) |
| CHA-006.001 | Life history of Ellis Carnes |
| CHA-006.002 | Life history of Ellis Carnes (transcription) |
| CHA-007.001 | Luksi micha ano |
| CHA-007.002 | Luksi micha ano (transcription) |
| CHA-008.001 | Boarding school runaways |
| CHA-008.002 | Boarding school runaways (transcription) |
| CHA-009.001 | Banaha ikbi and tansh hauwashko |
| CHA-009.002 | Banaha ikbi and tansh hauwashko (transcription) |
| CHA-010.001 | Aboha anutaka |
| CHA-010.002 | Aboha anutaka (transcription) |
| CHA-011.001 | Slaughtering a hog |
| CHA-011.002 | Slaughtering a hog (transcription) |
| CHA-012 | Aboha kvllo chito (transcription) |
| CHA-013 | Ayuka aiasha |
| CHA-014.001 | Wheelock boarding school 'ghost' experience |
| CHA-014.002 | Wheelock boarding school 'ghost' experience (transcription) |
| CHA-015.001 | Shukha vbi li naha tuk |
| CHA-015.002 | Shukha vbi li naha tuk (transcription) |
| CHA-016.001 | Ofi chito holba |
| CHA-016.002 | Ofi chito holba (transcription) |
| CHA-017.001 | Childhood memories |
| CHA-017.002 | Childhood memories (transcription) |
| CHA-018.001 | Tanchi labona ikbi |
| CHA-018.002 | Tanchi labona ikbi (transcription) |
| CHA-019.001 | Hopoba chito |
| CHA-019.002 | Hopoba chito (transcription) |
| CHA-020.001 | Boarding school days |
| CHA-020.002 | Boarding school days (transcription) |
