Fluent Speakers

Chickasaw fluent speakers are the driving force in language preservation. Their willingness to share their priceless knowledge with younger generations is essential to the language's survival.

13 Items

Stanley Smith: Department of Chickasaw Language

The Chickasaw Nation
Meet Stanley Smith, the senior language master at the Chickasaw Department of Language.

JoAnn Ellis: Department of Chickasaw Language

The Chickasaw Nation
Meet JoAnn Ellis, language specialist at the Chickasaw Department of Language.

Rose Shields-Jefferson: Chickasaw Fluent Speaker

The Chickasaw Nation
Rose Shields-Jefferson is a Chickasaw fluent speaker who grew up speaking only Chickasaw.

Meet My Mother, Fluent in Our Language

Nacobi Walker, Joann Ellis, and Johnna Walker
Johnna Walker describes how her mother helps keep the Chickasaw language alive for new speakers.

Pauline Brown: Fluent Chickasaw Speaker

The Chickasaw Nation
Meet Pauline Carpenter Brown, fluent Chickasaw speaker and Chickasaw Hall of Fame inductee.

Fluent Speakers Sing Hymn

The Chickasaw Nation
Pauline Brown and Jerry Imotichey lead Chickasaw fluent speakers singing a hymn from a Choctaw hymnal.

Chickasaw as a Primary Language

Catherine Willmond
Catherine Willmond is a Chickasaw fluent speaker, an award winning author and a teacher of the Chickasaw language.

JoAnn and Jeremy

JoAnn and Jeremy Ellis
Chickasaw fluent speaker JoAnn Ellis explains why the mission of language revitalization is so important to her.

Jerry Imotichey: Chickasaw Fluent Speaker

The Chickasaw Nation
Jerry Imotichey was a Chickasaw fluent speaker and held an immense amount of pride in his tribe.

Hannah Corsello: Chickasaw Fluent Speaker

The Chickasaw Nation
Hannah Corsello is one of the remaining Native fluent speakers of the Chickasaw language.

Hannah Corsello and Rick Greenwood

Master-Apprentice
Hannah Corsello says new speakers hold the future of the Chickasaw language in their hands.

Emma McLeod and Ellen Chapman

Emma McLeod and Ellen Chapman
Ellen Chapman expresses her joy at learning her native language from a revered community elder.

Fluent Speakers Sing The Gospel

The Chickasaw Nation
Chickasaw fluent speakers sing "The Gospel" from a collection of Choctaw hymns.