Alecia Gonzales

Known for her lifelong devotion to teaching and preserving the Kiowa language, author and educator Alecia Keahbone Gonzales, a great friend and longtime employee of the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma, died on April 22.

Born in Ft. Cobb, the Kiowa-Apache author and teacher was named the Apache Tribal Princess as a young girl. In the 1950s, Gonzales presented "The Lord's Prayer" in Indian sign language on the first color television broadcast of "The Dave Garraway and Arlene Francis Show." In 1962, President John F. Kennedy presented her with a Lifesaving award. She graduated from the Oklahoma College for Women with a bachelor of arts degree in 1964, then obtained her master of arts degree at Southwestern State College in 1974. She received a second master's degree in speech pathology from the University of Oklahoma and pursued further post-graduate studies at Arizona State and Utah State universities.

Gonzales had worked a speech pathologist, a dean of student services, a guidance counselor and an educator. She was a member of various groups, such as the Oklahoma Federation of Indian Women, the National Education Association, the Caddo County Education Association, and she was the 1993-94 recipient of the Indian Woman of the Year award.

Upon returning to USAO as an instructor, Gonzales worked extensively with student organizations and was highly valued as a speaker on a variety of topics related to community service, cultural preservation and the role of women in education.

In 2001, Gonzales, in conjunction with the USAO Foundation, published Thaun Khoiye Tdoen Gyah: Beginning Kiowa Language, the first Kiowa language textbook to be certified for use in the Oklahoma school system. Last fall, Gonzales recorded a 12-hour video companion series to the textbook. The series is slated for release later this year.

In recent years, Gonzales had taken legendary Kiowa folk songs and gave them life through children's storybooks. Printed by USAO, these bilingual children's books include "Little Red Buffalo Song," "A Mother Bird's Song," and "Grandma Spider's Song," among others.

In recognition of her many achievements as both an alumna and an educator, Gonzales was inducted into the USAO Alumni Hall of Fame in 2005.

USAO President Dr. John Feaver observed Gonzales' passing with profound sadness, noting that, "Alecia Gonzales' life embodied every value we hope to pass on to our students today—an ambitious studiousness, an unwavering commitment to community and, above all, a kind and generous heart. She will be sorely missed."

Services were held April 26 at the Anadarko High School auditorium. Gonzales will be interred in the Fort Cobb Cemetery.

Oklahoma -- This March, lifelong educator and Kiowa-Apache author Alecia Keahbone Gonzales will receive the Oklahoma Humanities Council's [OCH] 2009 Public Humanities Award. The award honors scholars who are responsible for outstanding public humanities programming in a library, museum or other cultural institutions.

As an author and educator, Gonzales has devoted her life to teaching and preserving the Kiowa language. She has been a speech pathologist, a dean of student services and a guidance counselor. Her book, Thaun Khoiye Tdoen Gyah: Beginning Kiowa Language, is the first of its kind in America and may have secured the Kiowa language's future. It may also prove to be a model for other Native American tribes working to sustain their own languages.

In addition to the language textbook, Gonzales gave life to legendary Kiowa folk songs through children's storybooks. These bilingual books include Little Red Buffalo Song, A Mother Bird's Song, Grandma Spider's Song, Grandmother's Song and The Prairie Dog Song.

In 2000, Gonzales welcomed 17 Kiowa students to the first Yee P'ay Gyan Aim ("two ways of thinking") course funded by OHC. This Kiowa Clemente Course was modeled after the original Clemente course taught in New York City in 1995. The original Clemente Course empowered inner-city residents by teaching them a traditional Western humanities curriculum. Because Gonzales was a member of the original planning committee, the course became bicultural. It now provides a unique presentation of Kiowa culture with Western humanities.

"One of the first nights of the Kiowa Clemente Course in the Humanities, there was to be a class in the Kiowa language for the Kiowa students. Mrs. Gonzales took her place in a circle of tables. She spoke very softly to them and the room became ordered," said Earl Shorris, president of the Clemente Course in the Humanities, Inc.

"Of all the men and women in the room, Alecia Gonzales was the one who said by her well chosen wardrobe and serious, almost stern demeanor, that she would lead. She was the beautiful one and, without saying so, told them that the beauty they saw and the stern demeanor was Kiowa. She spoke to them in Kiowa and they did not understand. Then she said the word for grandmother and for a little while she did not speak any words, she hummed. And soon they were humming with her.

"Then she began singing softly in Kiowa and they also sang. The words came to them. She had found the cradle of culture – everyone knew. The class was begun," Shorris said.

Among Gonzale's many other accomplishments:
As a young girl, Alecia was Apache Tribal Princess.
In the 1950s, she presented "The Lord's Prayer" in Indian sign language on the first color TV broadcast of "The Dave Garraway and Arlene Francis Show."
In 1962, President John F. Kennedy presented her with a lifesaving award.
In 1965, she graduated from the Oklahoma College for Women with a bachelor of arts degree.
In 1974, Alecia earned her master of arts degree at Southwestern State University.
In 1993-94 Gonzales received the Indian Woman of the Year award.
In 2008, Alecia was honored by the American Association of Retired People.
Alecia's voice guides visitors on a recorded audio tour at the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian in Washington

Alecia still teaches at Anadarko High School where she approaches the Kiowa language from a "bicultural" viewpoint using two distinctly different languages. She has also taught Kiowa language classes at the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma.

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