Talking Indian by Jenny L. Davis considers the relationship between Chickasaw language revitalization efforts and economic growth, demonstrating that, for Indigenous peoples, language is inextricably tied to identity, tribal policies, and dynamic changes in our communities. Davis, a member of the Chickasaw community, negotiated the precarity of Native ethnography to provide a unique analysis of Chickasaw language revitalization. The book emerges out of complex systems of language and Indigeneity as a deeply emotional, diligently researched, and expertly crafted look into language revitalization on the Chickasaw Indian Reservation in Oklahoma and beyond.
The book's introduction summarizes the complex negotiations of identity, belonging, and membership that Indigenous peoples undertake in the wake of colonization (19). Most significantly, Davis ties these concerns to the wider field of diaspora studies by arguing that the removal of peoples and nations throughout the US and Canada, which resulted in massive relocation of Indigenous peoples from their traditional and reservation communities to urban areas, can be classified as various kinds of diaspora. Chapter 1 provides specific context for these diffusions within the Chickasaw nation, as well as an historical overview of the Chickasaw nation from preremoval through to the present day.
Building on the historical and contemporary ramifications of diaspora, chapters 2 through 5 discuss the impacts of language revitalization on individual and community identity in ever widening geographic contexts, beginning with considerations of the role of language revitalization in identity formation on the reservation. Chapter 2 identifies two primary nodes of identity within the Chickasaw community that serve as loci for a wider web of identification: being a Speaker, with the capital S denoting one's status as a native speaker; and being a speaker, with the lowercase letter indicating someone who has learned/is learning Chickasaw. Chapter 3 then examines secondary connections within the reservation community via t-shirts printed with Chickasaw words. Commonly made for annual gatherings, these t-shirts visibly identify the wearer as being involved with language revitalization efforts, and subsequently, a part of the Chickasaw community. Furthering this analysis of language mobility and motility, chapter 4 discusses the diffusion of language as modes of ‘communication, pedagogy, and symbolism’ that transcend geographic limitations (119). Extending far beyond the reservation boundaries, chapter 5 examines the role of technology in community building. Davis suggests that new media, like the Chickasaw language app and Chickasaw Word of the Day Twitter account allow urban Chickasaws to participate in their language, creating new connections to their community by identifying as members of a language community.
Ultimately, Davis's book presents an optimistic view of the role that emergent ethnolinguistic identities might play in the future of urban and reservation Chickasaw communities.
