Chikashshanompa' is more than just the Chickasaw language––for many it is a divine gift and ancient link that has connected Chickasaw people to their ancestors, each other and the world around them for centuries.

While the Chickasaw language is still spoken today, the relatively low number of fluent, first-language speakers means it is considered endangered. As English spread throughout Indian Territory in the 19th and 20th centuries, a tumultuous period of forced boarding schools and harsh assimilation policies discouraged Chickasaw citizens from speaking their ancestral language and teaching it to their children. However, leaders in the late 20th century were unwilling to let Chikashshanompa' fade into history. In 1973, Reverend Jesse J. Humes and Vinnie May (James) Humes published the first Chickasaw Dictionary. This essential reference, created at the request of Governor Overton James, was the first of many steps taken toward preserving the language.

Despite years of fewer first language speakers, the Chickasaw language is seeing a resurgence of learning in a thriving era of revitalization. Governor Bill Anoatubby declared 2022-2032 as The Decade of Chickasaw Language, expanding the population of conversationally proficient speakers by creating new programs and learning resources. Dr. Shannon Speed teaches a virtual group of students of all ages from around the country, while public schools like Byng and Ada High School are bringing the language to eager 9th-12th grade learners. In the Chikasha Academy Adult Immersion program, students participate in a 3-year, 40 hour/week, intensive course that prepares them to teach the language and speak fluently. Meanwhile, Kimberly Johnson, Ph.D. is the Chickasaw Language Lead Transcriptionist. She works with fluent speaker Rose Jefferson-Shields to record, transcribe and translate the stories of remaining Chickasaw speakers.

The Chickasaw Nation is on track to accomplish a variety of goals by the end of the Decade of Chickasaw Language. A new building dedicated for use by the language department, a new program tailored to teaching infants and young children Chickasaw and increasing the number of conversational speakers are just a few of the goals.

"We really just encourage them to embrace [the language] in whatever way feels appropriate for them," says Lokosh (Joshua D. Hinson, Ph.D.). "It's not about becoming a master, fluent speaker, just learn how to say hello ... that's the doorway to the totality of what the language can be."

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