Omaha language

[Catherine Rudin/HU/AC/WSC]

I think I've met Colleen Webster (Flores).  The name certainly rings a
bell, though maybe it's just because I've had so many other Websters in my
classes in Macy...

I'm glad Mark will contact her.  I myself plan to keep out of it as much as
possible, unless she calls or writes me (which she is of course welcome to
do -- Mark or anyone else who talks to her should feel free to pass on my
address etc.)  I'm afraid I'm probably perceived on the reservation as
someone who has no apparent reason to be interested in the language but
inexplicably keeps popping up; teaching a class, coming around asking
questions ... no doubt one of those outsiders getting rich off ill-gotten
knowledge, as Mark says.  It might do more harm than good for me to go
pushing myself in here.  I know at least a couple of students have been
resentful that I knew more Omaha than they did.  There's a lot of
frustration by people who feel like they ought to know "their own
language"...

The web site could be anything.  Maybe searching for Omaha language she ran
across the site of some conference where one of us gave a paper, or
someone's vita on a university site, or one of the Linguist List "does any
language do this" queries that John has answered with Omaha data.  Who
knows!  A little web access is a dangerous thing.

About the mysterious "NY fellow" -- could Bob mean "the NE fellow", i.e.
Richard Chilton?  He did show up at one meeting, perhaps the Bloomington
one -- I haven't heard anything of him or his partner Margery Coffey in a
couple of years.

Anyhow, this is mostly just to signal you guys that I'm following the
discussion but don't intend to do anything.  Bob's letter was an excellent,
diplomatic response; hopefully she'll feel less "left out" now.
Catherine