Parker McKenzie

Parker Paul McKenzie (Kiowa: Yí:sàum) (November 15, 1897, near Rainy Mountain, Indian Territory – March 5, 1999, Mountain View, Oklahoma) was a Kiowa Native American linguist, who developed the Kiowa language orthography.

Early life McKenzie was born in a tipi, and baptized in the Washita River. He was educated at the Rainy Mountain Kiowa Boarding School, where it was mandatory to speak the English Language; those who used the Kiowa language were threatened with physical punishment. Afterwards, he attended the Phoenix Indian School, Union High School, Lamson College, and Oklahoma State University.

McKenzie attended the Phoenix Indian School with Nettie Odlety (c. 1896 – 1978), whom he married on August 23, 1919. At school the couple wrote each other letters in Kiowa.

Death McKenzie died in 1999 at the age of 101 years, and was interred at Anadarko, Oklahoma. After his death, he was elected to the Oklahoma Historians Hall of Fame.

Family McKenzie and his wife, Nettie, had five children: two daughters and three sons.