Love of Creek language inspires teacher to share (fwd)

[Phil Cash Cash]

Love of Creek language inspires teacher to share

By KEITH DINWIDDIE / The Norman Transcript
http://www.okmulgeetimes.com/display/inn_news/709.txt

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) -- In the American Indian language of Creek, the word
mvhayv (pronounced mu-high-ya) means teacher. On the University of
Oklahoma campus, Margaret Mauldin is much more than that.

Mauldin, affectionately known as "Mvhayv" to her students at OU, is one
of the world's foremost authorities on the Creek language. In the fall
of 1995, Mauldin became OU's first Creek language instructor. In her
first semester as a university-level Creek instructor, Mauldin said she
had only limited homemade materials to use.

"OU had been experimenting with several tribal languages, such as Kiowa,
Choctaw and Cherokee, but before that time there was no Creek language
course offered for college credit," Mauldin said. "But all of these
languages, including Creek, were at the beginning level."

Mauldin's love affair with the Creek language can be traced to her
childhood. As a Native American, Mauldin grew up in a home where
English was not the first language. In Mauldin's childhood home in
Okemah, Creek was the language spoken most frequently between family
and friends.

In fact, Mauldin's mother, who died two years ago at the age of 94,
spoke only Creek her entire life.

Mauldin, who is now 63, said growing up in a Creek-speaking home gave
her an appreciation and love for the language she has carried with her
throughout her life. Before becoming a teacher, Mauldin spent several
years driving 18-wheelers across the United States.

During her years on the road, Mauldin said she found herself missing the
Creek language. Once she returned home to Okemah, she discovered fewer
and fewer people were speaking Creek.

"It struck me that I wasn't hearing the language as frequently as I used
to," Mauldin said. "I kept wondering why 'they' weren't doing anything
about it, and then I thought why aren't I doing anything about it. I
decided then that I could make a difference, and I would make a
difference."

Mauldin said she gave up all employment and began working on a plan to
keep the Creek language alive and growing. She said the first step in
the process was evaluating how fluent she actually was in the language
and finding out how well she could read what little written material
there was available.

She said the only real reading source she could find was the Creek
version of the New Testament, making the book her source material of
sorts when it came to spelling and grammar.

In 1991, she began teaching Creek language classes in her home in
Okemah. Mauldin said she was initially surprised at how many people
wanted to learn the language.

"I advertised the classes in the Okemah newspaper, and people just
came," Mauldin said. "I originally wanted to teach the language to two
people in the same family or two people who spoke to each other
frequently. That way these people could practice the language together
on a daily basis. I still believe language learning should be done by
families. That's the most effective method of learning a language."

Mauldin's first step in bringing the Creek language to the OU campus
also came in 1991. After hearing Mauldin speak in Creek at a tribal
meeting in Okemah, John Moore, OU anthropology chairperson at the time,
contacted Mauldin and asked her to do some translation work for OU.

Eventually, the translation job led to a position as a consultant for
anthropological linguistics classes at the school.

Realizing Mauldin's familiarity and knowledge of Creek language were
virtually unparalleled, OU offered her a position as an instructor of
curriculum development in the Creek language in the department of
anthropology/Native American studies. Today, Mauldin is joined by her
daughter Gloria McCarty as OU's two Creek language instructors.
Together, the mother and daughter teach six courses at three levels.

"The Creek language program today compared to what it was when we
started it in 1995 is like night and day," Mauldin said. "While we've
come a long way, we're really just now taking step two. We're now
gathering data and materials for a textbook, and we want our textbook
to be just as good, attractive and shiny as the textbooks for most
other classes."

While the Creek language program has operated without a textbook for its
first eight years at OU, students in the curriculum do at least have
access to a Creek dictionary, thanks to Mauldin.

In 2000, Mauldin, along with linguist Jack Martin, published a Creek
dictionary. It was only the second Creek language dictionary ever
published and the first since 1890.

As part of her Creek curriculum at OU, Mauldin teaches her students a
number of classic Creek songs and hymns, giving students a chance to
harken back to what it was like for Mauldin growing up in a Native
American home in rural Oklahoma.

All of the songs Mauldin includes in her classes have been transcribed
entirely from her memory.