Okie From Maskoke Proposes Lekwe Legislation

(Maskoke is the Creek word for Muskogee and lekwe means rotten, according to the Creek Language Archive.)

A bill that would make English the state’s official language is institutionalized racism and a targeted slap in the face to Oklahoma’s Hispanic and Native American communities.

The bill, introduced by state Rep. George Faught, a Republican from Muskogee, would require that all state business be enacted in English. This would include drivers’ license tests and, apparently, social and health services and documents as well. It would primarily create hassles and suffering for the state’s growing Hispanic community, though all non-English speaking people would find life more difficult in Oklahoma if the bill passes

Symbolically, the English-only effort absolutely ignores the state’s rich history, which includes the contributions of Native American tribes, many of which were forced from their land and sent here by the federal government before statehood. These tribes have their own unique, centuries-old languages and customs that would be shamefully dishonored by this bill. Consequently, some tribes have come out against the bill.

The bill is part of the GOP’s continuing political strategy to anger people about The Other. It aims to cast suspicions and distrust on anyone who is not white and does not speak English. As the country and the state becomes more diverse, the Oklahoma and national GOP must set up a false enemy, or The Other, to blame for their corporate-worshipping policies that keep wages stagnant and health costs high for the middle class.

Along with creating basic human hardship, the bill would also be costly for two other reasons:

(1) It will show the country and the world that a majority of Oklahomans are intolerant of people from other cultures with different languages. This could cost the state in economic development. Potential businesses will see us as a place of hicks and racists. This is a particularly horrid bill to pass during our centennial when we want to draw attention to our accomplishments, not the deep-seated bigotry in our history.

(2) It sends a message to our children that learning and studying languages other than English is not worth the time or effort. It creates a law that actually sanctions intellectual ignorance. If we don’t expose our children to other languages, we hold them back from participating in the world.