Wichita is a member of the northern branch of the Caddoan language family. Related languages include Kitsai, Pawnee, Arikara, and Caddo. At contact, Wichita was spoken in present day Kansas and later in Texas and Oklahoma. The Wichita and Affiliated Tribes are currently located in Anadarko, Oklahoma and include the Waco, Keechi, Tawakoni, and Wichita people. The last native fluent speaker of Wichita was Doris Jean Lamar-McLemore, who passed away in 2016.
Selected Language Information
Rood, David S. 1976. Wichita Grammar. New York: Garland.
Rood, David S. 1977. Wichita Texts. International Journal of American Linguistics- Native American Texts Series Vol. 2.1: 91-128.
Rood, David S. 1996. Sketch of Wichita, a Caddoan Language. In Handbook of North American IndiansVol. 17. 580–608.
Sample Archival Materials in the Native American Languages Collection
Ball, Douglas (author), Carolyn Quintero (collector). 2006. Accounting for Affrication and Fortition in Wichita: Syllables or Strings? Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History Department of Native American Languages. Media: manuscript. Catalog Number: CQU-780.
McAdams, Gary (Author, Speaker), Mike McCarty (Recorder), Doris Jean Lamar McLemore (Speaker). 2012. Wichita Words and Phrases. Sam Noble Museum (Made In-House) Collection. Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History Department of Native American Languages. Media: audio. Catalog Number: SNM-004.001.
Delaware, Marvin (speaker), Mike McCarty (recorder). 2013. Wichita Hymns, Sung by Marvin Delaware. Sam Noble Museum (Made In-House). Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History Department of Native American Languages. Media: audio. Catalog Number: SNM-006.
—–. (n.d.). Last Voice of the Wichita 2008-01-20. Wichita Language Program Collection. Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History Department of Native American Languages. Media: audio. Catalog Number: WLP-00148.
Links
Wichita Language Documentation Project
NPR Interview with Doris McLemore
Catalogue of Endangered Languages
