Durbin Feeling Explained

Native Name:ᏫᎵ ᏚᎥᎢᏅ
Native Name Lang:Cherokee
Durbin Feeling
Birth Date:2 April 1946
Birth Place:Mayes County, Oklahoma, US
Death Place:Tahlequah, Oklahoma, US
Nationality:Cherokee Nation, American
Occupation:Linguist, educator

Durbin Feeling (Cherokee: ᏫᎵ ᏚᎥᎢᏅ|translit=Wili Duvinv; April 2, 1946August 19, 2020) was a Cherokee Nation linguist who wrote the primary Cherokee–English dictionary in 1975. He is considered the greatest modern contributor to the preservation of the endangered Cherokee language.[1] [2] [3] [4]

Early life

Feeling was born on April 2, 1946, to Jeff and Elizabeth Feeling in the Little Rock community east of Locust Grove, Oklahoma.[5] [6] Cherokee was his first language; he learned English when he was in the first grade.[7] He began to read Cherokee syllabary when he was 12 years old.

Feeling graduated from Chilocco Indian School (a Native American boarding school) in 1964 and earned an associate's degree from Bacone College in 1966.[8] He was drafted into the Army in 1967 and served as a door gunner during the Vietnam War.[9] He began to write in Cherokee syllabary when corresponding with his mother while he was in Vietnam. He was awarded a Purple Heart, and he was honorably discharged in 1970.

Career

Durbin began his work with the Cherokee language when he returned from Vietnam. In 1975, Feeling co-wrote the first Cherokee–English dictionary.[10] It remains the "standard publication for Cherokee language reference".

Feeling earned a bachelor's degree in journalism from Northeastern State University in 1979 and earned a master's degree in social sciences from the University of California, Irvine in 1992.[9] [11] [12]

Feeling taught Cherokee at universities including the University of Oklahoma, the University of Tulsa, and the University of California. He authored or contributed to many books and research articles about Cherokee. His materials for Cherokee language learners remain widely used, and many Cherokee language teachers learned directly from Feeling.

Feeling worked for the Cherokee Nation from 1976 to 2020, including in its language translation and technology department.[7] In the 1980s, he added the Cherokee syllabary to a word processor.[7] He also contributed to the addition of the Cherokee syllabary to Unicode, which allows it to be widely available on computers and smartphones.[7]

Personal life and death

Feeling was a Baptist lay minister.[13]

He died August 19, 2020.

Influence and legacy

For his contributions to the preservation of the Cherokee language and Cherokee culture, Feeling was named a Cherokee National Treasure by the Cherokee Nation. He was also awarded an honorary doctorate by Ohio State University.[9] Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin, Jr. has described Feeling as "a modern-day Sequoyah" (referring to the creator of the Cherokee syllabary) and said that "[e]verything we are doing for language revitalization is because of Durbin.” In 2019, the Cherokee Nation chose Feeling as the first signatory of the Cherokee Language Speakers Roll.

Feeling is the namesake of the Cherokee Nation's language learning center (the Durbin Feeling Language Center)[14] and 2022 legislation protecting indigenous languages (the Durbin Feeling Native American Languages Act).[15]

The Sam Noble Museum holds the Durbin Feeling Collection, containing his extensive Cherokee-language materials, including letters written in Cherokee to and from members of Feeling’s family.[16]

Selected works

Notes and References

  1. News: August 19, 2020. Cherokee Nation mourns passing of Cherokee National Treasure Durbin Feeling, single-largest contributor to Cherokee language since Sequoyah. Anadisgoi, the Official Cherokee Nation Newsroom. August 19, 2020. August 20, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200820051516/https://anadisgoi.com/index.php/culture-stories/392-cherokee-nation-mourns-passing-of-cherokee-national-treasure-durbin-feeling-single-largest-contributor-to-cherokee-language-since-sequoyah. dead.
  2. Web site: Stanley. Tim. August 20, 2020. Durbin Feeling, Cherokee linguist and 'modern-day Sequoyah,' dies at 74. Tulsa World. en.
  3. Web site: Trotter. Matt. August 20, 2020. Durbin Feeling, Leader in Effort to Save the Cherokee Language, Dead at 74. August 22, 2020. Public Radio Tulsa. en.
  4. Language is Everything: The Story of Durbin Feeling, Cherokee Linguist. August 23, 2020. OsiyoTV. November 3, 2019. 5 . 10.
  5. Web site: August 19, 2020. Longtime Cherokee linguist Durbin Feeling dies. Cherokee Phoenix. en.
  6. News: May 2014. 2 vets honored for service. Cherokee Phoenix. August 23, 2020. October 22, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201022031717/https://www.cherokeephoenix.org/Docs/2014/5/8176_2014-05-01.pdf. dead.
  7. Web site: Kemp. Adam. August 20, 2020. Renowned Cherokee linguist Durbin Feeling dies. The Oklahoman. en-US.
  8. Web site: Preaching the Gospel the Baptist Way in Cherokee. August 23, 2020. Seven Clans of the Cherokee Nation of Sequoyah of Mexico, Texas, and U.S.A. Reservation and Church.
  9. Web site: April 27, 2014. Cherokees honor Vietnam vet. Muskogee Phoenix. en.
  10. Web site: Baker. Bill John. Bill John Baker. April 25, 2019. Registry strives to record all Cherokee speakers. Tulsa World. en.
  11. Book: Guide: A Guide to Departments, a Directory of Members. 2008. American Anthropological Association. 978-0-9799094-4-3. 280. en.
  12. Book: Feeling, Durbin. Cherokee Narratives: A Linguistic Study. 2018. University of Oklahoma Press. 978-0-8061-6062-7. 5. en.
  13. Web site: Johnson. Keith. April 15, 2002. Untitled [letter recommending Durbin Feeling for honorary doctorate]]. live. August 5, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20150503202309/http://linguistics.berkeley.edu/~kjohnson/Durbin/durbin_letter.html . May 3, 2015 .
  14. News: Bark . Lindsey . November 16, 2022 . CN celebrates opening of Durbin Feeling Language Center . Cherokee Phoenix . September 12, 2023.
  15. News: Hunter . Chad . 10 January 2023 . President Biden signs Native language acts into law . Cherokee Phoenix . 11 January 2023.
  16. Web site: Durbin Feeling Collection. February 19, 2015 . August 23, 2020. Sam Noble Museum. en-US.

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