UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA GRADUATE COLLEGE CHIKASHSHA POYA TINGBA’ COPING WITH THE DEVALUING OF DIVERSITY IN AMERICA: A STUDY OF THE PERSPECTIVES OF THE CHICKASAW TRIBE A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE FACULTY in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY By KAREN GOODNIGHT Norman, Oklahoma 2012 CHIKASHSHA POYA TINGBA’ COPING WITH THE DEVALUING OF DIVERSITY IN AMERICA: A STUDY OF THE PERSPECTIVES OF THE CHICKASAW TRIBE A DISSERTATION APPROVED FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF INSTRUCTIONAL LEADERSHIP AND ACADEMIC CURRICULUM BY _________________________ Dr. Neil Houser, Chair _________________________ Dr. Frank McQuarrie _________________________ Dr. Stacy Reeder _________________________ Dr. Rockey Robbins _________________________ Dr. Joan Smith © Copyright by KAREN GOODNIGHT 2012 All Rights Reserved. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The completion of this dissertation would not have been possible without the endless support, patience, and motivation of my loving husband, Stan, and beautiful children, Kyle, Madie, and Katie. They unselfishly sacrificed our time together as a family so that I could devote many hours to studying, researching, traveling, and writing. Many thanks are due to my in-laws Chris and Molly Goodnight, for their encouragement, prayers, and eagerness to assist with any family needs throughout the years. Chiholloli. I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my advisor, chair, mentor, and friend, Dr. Neil Houser. His expertise, devotion, and commitment to helping me achieve success with the dissertation was inspirational-“An Kana Chiya’”. This experience will forever be a highlight in my life. I would also like to thank my doctoral committee from the University of Oklahoma, they are each truly genuine and amazing individuals. I also offer a generous thank you to my extended family, all of my friends and peers, who provided on-going support and encouragement throughout the entire process. A special heartfelt thank you to the Chickasaw Nation, and the Chickasaw people who graciously shared their knowledge, homes, cultural grounds, traditions, and personal experiences that made a valuable contribution to this research. I hold great respect for all. These shared experiences inspired me to re-connect to my Chickasaw heritage and culture, and to begin the journey of learning my Chickasaw language. For this, Chokma’shki. I am forever grateful to my Chickasaw grandparents, especially my great grandmother Brown, my grandmother Mary Odelia Sealey, and my mother Dean McManus. You are all unique Chickasaw women of honor and grace, and you had a vision for our future. You have inspired me to do the same for myself and for my children. Chi’hollo’li Finally, I give all the glory and credit to God. He gave me the strength and guided me through to the end with his mercy, grace, and love. Chipisala’cho Karen Goodnight iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ........................................................................................ iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ........................................................................................... v ABSTRACT .............................................................................................................. vi CHAPTER (CHAFFA) ONE: INTRODUCTION ................................................... 1 Coping with the Devaluing of Diversity in America ........................................... 1 American Indians Before European Contact ........................................................ 4 European Arrival .................................................................................................. 7 Assimilation and Removal ................................................................................. 11 The Chickasaws ................................................................................................. 15 Devaluing Diversity in Schools and Society ...................................................... 23 Research Questions ............................................................................................ 35 CHAPTER (TOKLO) TWO: THEORETICAL LENS ........................................... 37 Paulo Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed ........................................................ 39 Cultural Invasion: A Mechanism of Oppression ........................................... 41 Emancipatory Education: An Educational Solution ......................................... 49 James Banks’ Theoretical Framework .......................................................... 56 Integrating the Curriculum with Ethnic Content ........................................... 57 Cosmopolitan Citizenship ............................................................................. 59 Additional Solutions .......................................................................................... 62 CHAPTER (TOCHCHI’NA) THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ............. 65 Research Methodology: A Critical Ethnographic Study ................................... 66 Data Collection Procedures ................................................................................ 70 Data Analysis Methods ...................................................................................... 73 Participants and Setting ...................................................................................... 76 Confidence and Trustworthiness ........................................................................ 79 CHAPTER (OSHTA) FOUR: FINDINGS ............................................................. 83 Remembering ..................................................................................................... 84 Connecting ......................................................................................................... 99 Persevering ....................................................................................................... 107 The Role of Language ...................................................................................... 114 The Role of Education ..................................................................................... 116 Summary .......................................................................................................... 123 CHAPTER (TALHLHA’PI) FIVE: ANALYSIS AND IMPLICATIONS .......... 125 Analysis of Findings ........................................................................................ 125 Implications for Education ............................................................................... 137 Conclusion ....................................................................................................... 147 REFERENCES ....................................................................................................... 157 v ABSTRACT There is a critical problem in society today involving the devaluing of diversity, including multicultural perspectives, which prevents sociocultural equity. This is true for many societies past and present, including Native American communities in the United States. Educators need a greater appreciation of diversity in order to promote social and cultural justice and equity. One way to gain a greater appreciation of diversity could be through a deeper understanding of the perspectives of ethnic minority groups such as the Chickasaws and other Native American communities. A deeper understanding of one group could help illustrate the value of trying to understand other groups, and of trying to understand the value of diversity in general. In the first chapter, I will introduce the problem of and need to understand and value diversity in society, provide a brief history of Native Americans, identify my research questions, and offer an outline for the remainder of the paper. In the second chapter, I will identify the theoretical lenses that will be used to interpret and analyze the data. Using a critical social and multicultural educational lens, I will explore ways in which oppression persists and ways multicultural education can be used to help students think about issues of power and privilege and language and identity, not only in schools, but also in society in general. In the third chapter, I will discuss the research methodology that will be used with this study. A critical ethnographic methodology based on constructivist assumptions will be used to investigate the perspectives of various members of the Chickasaw Tribe. In the vi fourth chapter, I will present the findings of the study. In the fifth chapter, I will analyze the findings based on Paulo Freire’s theoretical perspective and discuss multicultural educational possibilities based on the work of scholars like James Banks. I will conclude the dissertation with an overall summary of the findings of the study. The goal of this study is to acknowledge our cultural differences and bring to light some of the underlying issues that provide a deeper understanding and heightened awareness into the socio-cultural and educational phenomenon of the devaluing of diversity. This could help not only the Chickasaw tribe but also perhaps others to develop a greater cultural understanding for a better society. It was also important for me, as a Chickasaw, to study my own tribe in search of a better understanding of these critical problems. In essence, I sought to gather Chickasaw perspectives, to find out how we coped with the devaluing of diversity we experienced in America, and to explore the role of education, (broadly defined) both as part of the problem and part of the solution.