CHOCTAW–ENGLISH DICTIONARY 1973 • Will T. Nelson • Oklahoma City Indian Calendar • Native Language Book

Description

First published by the Oklahoma City Indian Calendar, Inc., this Choctaw–English Dictionary is a grassroots effort in Indigenous language preservation—created and edited by Will T. Nelson (Nahollo), with photographs by the same, and featuring portraits of Choctaw and Chickasaw community members such as Charles E. Brown, Edmond Carney, and David Gardner. Much of the linguistic content derives from Cyrus Byington’s 1915 Government Printing Office edition of A Dictionary of the Choctaw Language, yet Nelson’s version localizes and recontextualizes it for the Oklahoma Choctaw people of the early 1970s. Copies were distributed mainly within Native community networks, rather than through academic or trade channels, making surviving examples notably scarce.

This edition reflects a significant moment in Indigenous self-publishing—appearing amid a national revival of Native languages and traditions following the passage of the Indian Civil Rights Act (1968). The book’s yellow textured wrappers and typewritten-style text speak to its small-press origins, likely mimeographed or offset printed in limited quantity. Few copies surface on the market, and most known examples reside in institutional Native Studies collections or archives. A vital artifact of 20th-century tribal linguistic preservation, and an intimate record of the Choctaw community’s effort to reclaim its language from obscurity.

A rare survivor of community-based Indigenous language preservation—an essential addition for collectors of Native linguistics, tribal history, and grassroots print culture.