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Kiowa Clemente

The Kiowa Clemente Course in the Humanities focuses on sustaining Kiowa language, history, and culture through a facilitated dialogue with Kiowa elders and community members. The course is currently co-taught by Kiowa elder Dorothy Whitehorse DeLaune and Dr. Rachel C. Jackson. The mission of the USAO Kiowa Clemente Course is to offer a cross-cultural, introductory Liberal Arts course for members of the Kiowa tribe that aims first at preserving Kiowa language and cultural knowledge among members of the tribal community. This course also promotes academic interest, particularly in Native Studies, by introducing students to a higher education environment and encouraging the development of strategies and behavior conducive to academic success. 

All are welcome and we hope you will join us, starting with the first class on Thursday, August 31! You can also explore the class’s online digital archive at kiowatalk.org. The archive includes short videos of elder Dorothy Whitehorse DeLaune teaching Kiowa language, culture, history and songs.

Read more about the course, including its purpose and history:

"Reclaiming Space in Native Knowledges and Languages: The Clemente Course in the Humanities"

"Decolonizing Community Writing with Community Listening: Story, Transrhetorical Resistance, and Indigenous Cultural Literacy Activism"

fall 2024

For the fall 2024 semester, the class will meet online via Zoom, starting on August 31, and continuing on Thursdays from 6:30 – 9:30 p.m. 

The course is offered for free university credit as a sophomore-level Native American Studies course that counts toward any degree program as an elective humanities credit and is transferrable to other accredited institutions. The course can be taken for credit for two semesters. 

Learn more about the course by downloading past syllabi and course calendars:

how to enroll

The deadline to enroll is September 5, 2024, for the fall 2024 semester. To enroll in the course for credit, fill out the USAO admissions application.  Once you have filled out the application and submitted it online, you will be contacted by the USAO Registrar’s office to enroll in the Kiowa Clemente course. On the application, be sure to indicate that you are a non-degree seeking student.

For questions regarding the application and enrollment, contact the Admissions Office at (405) 574-1357 or admissions@usao.edu

Next, open an account with zoom.us and clicking on the bright orange “sign up” button in the upper righthand corner. Be sure and remember or write down your username and password for future logins. 

On the night of class, join the class meeting room in zoom. 

  1. Access the meeting room: KIOWA CLEMENTE CLASS ZOOM MEETING ROOM
  2. You may need to log into your zoom account first.
  3. If you are prompted, the Meeting ID number is 635 179 8198 and the passcode is 395082. 
  4. Once you have entered the meeting space, you will arrive in the meeting “waiting room.”  From there you will be admitted to the meeting room by the meeting host.