Sovereignty Speaks #13
Language
Jim Parrish
Executive Education Director of School Programs and Senior Director of the School of Choctaw Language for the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma.
Mr. James Parrish currently serves as the Executive Director of Education for the Choctaw Nation and has been the Senior Director of the School of Choctaw Language since 2009. He is an enrolled member of the Choctaw Nation and a native to southeastern Oklahoma. Mr. Parrish is a third generation educator who retired from public education in July 2009 after a 34 year career in public education.
He has been a teacher, coach, athletic director, principal, and a superintendent in Oklahoma's public school system.
He presently serves as Vice-Chair of the Governor's Oklahoma Advisory Council on Indian Education, and has been a member of the council since its 2010 inception.
Mr. Parrish received his Bachelor's Degree in Business Education from Southeastern Oklahoma State University (SOSU) in 1975 and his Master's Degree in Public School Administration from SOSU in 1993. In his capacity as the Language Director, he worked tirelessly to obtain accreditation for tribal languages as a "world" language in the Oklahoma Public School System.
Since 2009, Mr. Parrish has grown the Choctaw Language Program to include a total of 42 public schools. Mr. Parrish advocates daily for Native education and empowering all children in the State of Oklahoma and embodies the philosophy of "Indian Education for All."