On November 19, the Dodge Family College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Oklahoma has informed its Directors and Chairs that it plans to eliminate foreign language requirements for general education. The College of Arts and Sciences plans to begin pushing the proposal implementation process as early as next week, which is Thanksgiving week. Their goal is to eliminate the teaching of languages at OU, a recent Norman Transcript article reported students were intentionally told by advisors not to enroll in language courses in anticipation of the College of Arts and Sciences eliminating language requirements. This general education requirement substantively supports Indigenous language classes at OU including Choctaw, Mvskoke/Seminole, Kiowa, Cherokee, and Potawatomi while creating access and credit hours towards these language courses. In May of this year, Oklahoma House Bill 3278 was signed into legislation which eliminated the foreign language requirement for high school students. Together, these actions effectively would eliminate public access to Native and all language courses in the state of Oklahoma, which is home to 39 Native Nations. 

Why is this petition important?

The current Tribal language courses at OU have an impact on the sovereignty and preservation of those Tribes and their citizens. The population of these Tribal Nations together is estimated at 1 million citizens and not including non-citizens who are in search of their identity.

• The elimination of language requirements directly threatens the vitality and preservation of Native American languages and cultures. These languages are the foundation of our worldviews, values, connection to the land, and sovereignty.

• As Native students, we have a deep personal stake in continuing these language programs. Many of us have discovered or reconnected with our tribal heritage through taking these courses.

• The University of Oklahoma is located on the ancestral lands of numerous tribal nations. Reducing access to Native language instruction on this land is an insult to the original stewards of these lands.

• As a public flagship university located in Oklahoma, OU has a responsibility to support the 39 Native Nations in the state by maintaining robust Native language programs.

• Language revitalization efforts in our communities rely on the pipeline of new speakers that university programs help to cultivate. Cutting these programs will have a far-reaching impact on the future of our languages.

• A degree from the University of Oklahoma should signify a well-rounded, culturally competent graduate. Eliminating language requirements diminishes the value and reputation of an OU education.

• Learning Native languages provides invaluable cultural competency that benefits all students, regardless of their background. This enriches educational experience and prepares graduates to engage with diverse communities.

• Preserving Native language instruction is essential for upholding the university's stated commitments to access and opportunity, serving all populations.

With the overwhelming economic impact and employment opportunities that tribal nations generate in the State of Oklahoma, it is salient that OU graduates are knowledgeable and competent to work in those tribal communities that benefit all Oklahomans.

Specific Points to Raise

• Share personal stories about how taking Native language courses has impacted you, your sense of identity, and your connection to Indigenous communities.

• Share personal stories of how language courses uphold OU’s strategic plan pillar to “become a place belonging and emotional growth for students, staff, faculty, alumni”

• Apply language from the university’s Land Acknowledgment to “fully recognize, support and advocate for the sovereign rights of all of Oklahoma’s 39 tribal nations. This acknowledgment is aligned with our university’s core value of creating a diverse and inclusive community. It is an institutional responsibility to recognize and acknowledge the people, culture, and history that make up our entire OU Community”

• Note the Department of NAS’s commitment to and collaborations with Native Nations in Oklahoma, which includes Native languages and their ongoing instruction from NAS language instructors.

• Connect the language issue to broader concerns about how this policy devalues OU’s Strategic Plan pillar “To prepare students for a life of success, meaning, service and positive impact.” 

• Emphasize Native Languages as critical to the OU’s Strategic Plan pillar “To enrich and positively impact Oklahoma, The Nation, and the World through research and creative activity.”

• Emphasize the practical benefits of bilingualism and multilingualism in an increasingly globalized world.

• Highlight the unique position of OU as a land-grant institution on ancestral tribal lands and the moral imperative to support these languages. Without these lands, there is no “OU.”

• Connect the history of boarding schools’ disavowal of Native languages to the current state of Native language reclamation and resurgence.

• Center Native languages and instruction as critical, not marginal, to embody and represent Indigenous ways of knowing and being.

Call to Action

Encourage fellow students to get involved with their kinship networks by writing letters, making calls, and attending relevant meetings, sharing their concerns in defense of these critical programs.

Remember: Speak from the heart about the profound personal and community-level impacts.

Where to send your personal letters and letters from your Tribal leaders:

Interim Dean of the Dodge Family College of Arts and Letters, Dr. Randall S. Hewes, - Email: hewes@ou.edu
Senior Vice President and Provost of the University of Oklahoma, Dr. André-Denis Wright, - Email: andre.wright@ou.edu

President Joseph Harroz, Jr.
Office of the President
660 Parrington Oval, Room 110
Norman, OK 73019
Email: officeofthepresident@ou.edu

You can also post comments in the online petition: https://www.change.org/LanguageEd