Sharon Baker, Ed.D.

Associate Professor of Deaf Education

Native American Deaf Experience: Perspectives on Language, Culture, and

Education

Oklahoma

The name Oklahoma comes from the Choctaw language.

Okla means people humma means red, so Oklahoma translates to red people. Oklahoma has a large population of Native American people. Most live on tribal lands, sometimes in housing provided by the tribe.

The state is divided into two zones that are occupied by eastern tribes and western tribes

Native American Tribes are Unique

Although there are some common elements, they vary significantly.

• They have different traditions, histories, and cultures.

• They have different ways of life.• They vary is the extent of assimilation into

majority culture.• They speak different languages.• American Indian Sign Language was used with

many western plains tribes.

Tribes in this Study

• Cherokee

• Creek

• Chickasaw

• Choctaw

• Seminole

Indian Territory1834 - 1889

The United States government forced most of the Indians in the southeastern states to move to Indian Territory. Five tribes, known as the Five Civilized Tribes, were removed between 1827 and 1839.

Relocated from Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina between 1830 - 1839

The Cherokee

Lady of the Spring, Willard Stone

CreekRemoved from Georgia to Indian Territory between 1827 -1832.

A Creek Warrior

ChoctawRemoved to Indian Territory in 1830 from Mississippi andAlabama.

ChickasawRemoved from Mississippi in 1835 by boat.

SeminoleRemoved with the Creeks from Florida.

Dana Tiger

Some Tribes Were in Indian Territory When the Southeastern Tribes Were

RemovedOther Tribes Relocated to Indian Territory

Eastern OklahomaQuapawMiamiWyandotteOttawaModocPeoriaSeneca-CayugaEastern ShawneeOsage

Western Oklahoma

Kiowa

Comanche

Arapaho

Apache

Delaware

Sac and Fox

Pawnee

1889 brought settlers to Oklahoma as free land became available.

Statehood: 1907

Oklahoma Tribes Have Common Historical Elements

Vanishing Culture andLanguage

Efforts to preserve native languages

PowerlessnessPovertyAlcoholismDiabetesUnemploymentBingo and Gaming

Annihilation OppressionRemovalRelocationMission SchoolsIndian Boarding SchoolsDisempowerment

The Native American Deaf Experience

• Ethnographic, phenomenological research Phenomenological research is the study of human experience and aims at gaining a deeper understanding of the nature or meaning of our every day experiences.

• Two groups were involved:– Native American Caregivers of Deaf

Children– Native American Deaf Adults

Description of Activities

Literature review which revealed that little information has been published regard Native American people who are deaf.

Difficulty in identifying Native American deaf and hard of hearing children and adults in Oklahoma

• Traveled throughout state to different tribes.• Met with community leaders and social workers.• Met with teachers at OSD and other deaf education programs

– Searched through yearbooks• Ask around

Findings

• The incidence of deafness is very low, especially in the Indigenous Oklahoma tribes and the western tribes where the etiology most often involves trauma or disease.

• However, every tribe had at least one member who was deaf or hard of hearing.

• Data pertaining to the Five Civilized Tribes revealed a higher incidence rate among their population.

Interviews with Caregivers

Interviews were conducted with 15 caregivers in Western Oklahoma.

Nine interviews were with mothers. The others were with grandmothers or maternal aunts.

• Interviews were usually held in the yard, not in the house• Sometimes a sibling served as an interpreter from English to the

Native American language. • They talked openly about their deaf children, cultural conflicts, and

fears for the future.• Interviews revealed that Native American mothers go through similar

grieving processes as other hearing mothers of deaf children.

Interviews with Native American Deaf Adults

• Challenges– Geographic Isolation– Most Native American adults live in the community

of their birth. – Access

• No phone service (They often had a TTY provided by the Deaf Services agency.)

• Of the 12 individuals identified, 8 were willing to share their stories

• Capturing the interview in written form since most requested not to be videotaped.

Findings• Content analysis of narratives from interviews revealed 21

themes:

• Most Native American Deaf adults lack an understanding of etiology and prevention of hearing loss.– Most were born in US Indian Hospitals– Possible involvement of genetic deafness in Cherokee Tribe.– They responded that most often traditional medicines were

used to try to cure their deafness (medicine men, sweat lodges, etc.)

• Identification of Hearing Loss by Maternal Aunt • Limited Use of Assistive Devices

• Residency in Rural Areas of the State – Lack of Residency Shifts – Native American Deaf people, even if they attended the

residential school for the deaf for a period of time, returned to their Native American community.

• Isolation – Most responded that they felt isolated and lonely. They were

able to communicate with only a few individuals in their community and mostly through a home sign system.

• Shame – Respondents reported that their families felt shame for their

deafness. Mothers reported that their child was deaf because of something they had done previously.

• Communication Barriers– No interpreters were identified in rural Native American

communities.• Sibling Serving as the Deaf Individual’s Interpreter

– Most of the sibling nearest the age of the Deaf individual served as his/her interpreter.

•

• Utilization of American Indian Sign Language by western tribes more than eastern tribes.

• Orality of Native American Culture Precludes Participation in that Culture

• Lack of Cultural Identity – Respondents noted that they didn’t belong to Native American

nor Deaf culture.• Deterioration of communication skills with continued residency

patterns in home community.• Lack of Cultural Participation

– They reported tat even though they attended PowWows and other cultural events, they were on the margins.

• Changing Sites of Educational Programs– Most often, individuals started school late, attended the

residential school for a brief time, then moved back home to their neighborhood schools.

• Abandonment– Individuals reported a strong feeling of abandonment when

left at the residential school.

• Family Members to Oversee Education – Often a family member would move to the community of the

residential school in order to make sure the child was safe.• Greater Awareness Increases Anger

– At the residential school, Native American Deaf individuals became aware of many things that made them feel angry and isolated in their home community.

• Societal Role As Caregiver– As adults, most individuals reported that they served in the

role of caregiver for elders in the community.• Lack of Educational Achievement

– Most often respondents reported that they felt cheated out of their education.

• Lack of Employment Opportunities – Unemployment is extremely high in Native American communities

• Translucency– Schools often were oblivious to the Native American child

enrolled in their school. When they looked at the child they saw a deaf child.

– Native American communities do the opposite. When they look at the child they see an Indian child, not the deafness. The child then is never viewed as a whole child.

Most Prevalent Theme

• Isolation, is a consequence of 17 out of 21 or 81% of the essential themes; therefore, isolation transcends or over-arches a majority of the findings in this study.

Further Investigation into Language:What Early Dictionaries Revealed

Cherokee Language

http://www.cherokee.org/Culture/LexiconPage.asp?ID=1726

       

  

       

  

       

  

         

Tribal Connection to Deaf Education

The Cherokee Nation

Strong commitment to educationEstablished an Asylum for the Insane, Deaf, and Blind Two missionaries (Mr. and Mrs. Long) established a school for blind children, then later added deaf children at Ft. Gibson, the last stop of the Trail of Tears

Current Research Activities

Focusing on the Cherokee Nation to determine if there existed schools for deaf children prior to removal.

Working with Dr. Harry Lang of NTID

• http://www.geocities.com/rainforest/7694/society.html

• http://www.oyate.org• http://www.fdl.uwc.edu/windian/• http://www.abanet.org/genpractice/compleat/f95identity.html• http://www.fdl.uwc.edu/windian/• http://www.fdl.uwc.edu/windian/• http://nuevaschool.org/~debbie/library/cur/wk97.html

• http://www.menominee.com/treaty/tribes.html

Webliography