Archie Sam
Archie Sam | |
---|---|
United Keetoowah Band[1] leader | |
Personal details | |
Born | [2][3] Greenleaf Mountain community[3] | June 30, 1914
Died | May 23, 1986[2] | (aged 71)
Resting place | Fort Gibson, Oklahoma[2] |
Spouse | Maudie Louise Quinton Sam[2] |
Children | Roy Wayne Sam Adeline Naeher |
Parent(s) | Creek Sam and Aggie Cumsey |
Education | Connors State College, Bacone College[3] |
Known for | Traditionalist and cultural historian |
Archie Sam (June 30, 1914 – May 23, 1986) was a
Early life and military service
Archie Sam was born in the Greenleaf Mountain community near Braggs, Oklahoma, on June 30, 1914.[2] Archie was the youngest son of White Tobacco Sam,[3] son of Creek Sam, and his mother was Aggie Cumsey, a fullblood Longhair clan Cherokee.[3] Archie Sam was the grandnephew of Watt Sam, the last native speaker of the Natchez language.[4]
Sam married Maudie Louise Quinton Sam (1914–2006), and the couple had two children, Roy Whayne Sam (1945–2011) and Adeline Naeher.[2][3]
Sam attended
Cultural work
In 1977 Sam worked with professor Charles Van Tuyl to recover sound recordings of Watt Sam that had been archived at the University of Chicago. These are the only known recordings of the Natchez language being spoken.[6]
Upon retiring in 1971, he dedicated himself to the preservation of his indigenous heritage.[4][5] He was a practitioner of native Natchez religion, and in 1969 he revived the Medicine Springs ceremonial ground,[7] located near Gore, Oklahoma.[4]
Death
Archie Sam died on May 23, 1986, and is buried in the Fort Gibson National Cemetery in Fort Gibson, Oklahoma.[2]
Notes
- ^ Slagle, Allogan. "Burning Phoenix: A Study of the Federal Acknowledgment, Reorganization and Survival of the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma, and of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma's Efforts to Terminate the Band." Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians via The Original Keetoowah Society. 1993. Retrieved September 13, 2013.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Archie Sam." Find a Grave. September 3, 2013.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Mails xv
- ^ a b c Nabokov 113
- ^ a b c Interview with Archie Sam August 30th 1976, Mississippi Department of Archives and History Archived March 5, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Fricker, Richard L. (October 9, 1977). "Language of extinct tribe haunts scholar". Boca Raton News. Retrieved September 3, 2013.
- OCLC 86038006.
References
- Mails, Thomas. Cherokee People: The Cherokee People: The Story of the Cherokees from Earliest Origins to Contemporary Times. Council Oak Books, 1996. ISBN 978-0933031456.
- Nabokov, Peter. Native American Architecture. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1989. ISBN 978-0195037814.