Doris McLemore

Doris Jean Lamar-McLemore (April 16, 1927 – August 30, 2016) was an American teacher who was the last native speaker of the Wichita language,[1] a Caddoan language spoken by the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes, indigenous to the U.S. states of Oklahoma and Texas.

Doris Lamar-McLemore
Doris McLemore in 2010
Born
Doris Jean Lamar

(1927-04-16)April 16, 1927
Anadarko, Oklahoma
DiedAugust 30, 2016(2016-08-30) (aged 89)
Anadarko, Oklahoma
OccupationTeacher (of Wichita language classes)
Known forLast native speaker of the Wichita language

Early life

McLemore was born in 1927 in Anadarko, Oklahoma.[2] Her mother was Wichita and her father was European-American.[3] McLemore was raised by her fullblood Wichita maternal grandparents, and Wichita was her first language.[4]

McLemore graduated from Riverside Indian School, an American Indian boarding school, in 1947 and worked as a house mother there for 30 years.[4] She married twice and had a son and two daughters.[4] In 1959 McLemore moved back to live near Gracemont, Oklahoma, to live among her relatives.

Preservation of the Wichita language

In 1962, McLemore met David Rood, a linguist from the University of Colorado, and they collaborated to preserve the Wichita language.[3]

McLemore taught language classes for the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes[5] and before her death, was collaborating with linguist David Rood to create dictionary and language CDs.[3]

"Doris is amazing for being able to retain as much as she does without having anyone to speak it to on a daily basis," said former Wichita tribal chairman, Gary McAdams.[4] She died on August 30, 2016, at the age of 89.[6]

References
  1. "The Last Living Speaker of the Wichita Language" (Audio interview). NPR. January 30, 2008. Retrieved May 3, 2021.
  2. "Last fluent speaker of Wichita tribal language preserves what's left". Dallas Morning News.
  3. Ruckman, S. E. (November 26, 2007). "Tribal language fading away". Tulsa World. Retrieved October 3, 2009.
  4. Somby, Liv Inger, published USA: The Last to Speak Wichita Language. Archived April 23, 2010, at the Wayback Machine Gáldu. (retrieved 3 Oct 2009)
  5. Wichita Language Class. Archived 2010-07-02 at the Wayback Machine Wichita and Affiliated Tribes. 18 Feb 2009 (retrieved 3 Oct 2009)
  6. Poolaw, Rhiannon (August 31, 2016). "Last Wichita Speaker Passes Away". ABC News 7. KSWO. Retrieved September 1, 2016.
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