The Birmingham News and the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s weekly magazine recently featured Jacqueline Matte, historian and NewSouth author of They Say the Wind is Red: The Alabama Choctaw — Lost in Their Own Land.

The articles center on Matte’s combined efforts with UAB anthropologist Loretta Cormier to validate the existence of the MOWA Band of Choctaw Indians. The MOWA Band of Choctaws, who remained hidden in the face of forced relocation to Oklahoma during the nineteenth century, are currently struggling to gain recognition from the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Despite being recognized by the Senate Select Committee on Indian Affairs in 1991, the BIA has continuously denied MOWA petitions for federal recognition.

In the UAB piece, Cormier discusses how Matte’s work helped her get started. Cormier said, “I wanted to know something about local Indians in the area, so I went to the library and saw Jackie’s book. I gave her a call, and we met and just clicked. She put me to work immediately.”

Read full articles from The Birmingham News and The University of Alabama at Birmingham at their links.

Jacqueline Matte holds master’s degrees in History and Education from the University of Alabama at Birmingham and a B.S. from Samford University. Matte first contacted the MOWA Choctaw in 1980 while researching her first book, and now holds the title of Tribal Historian. Matte continues to spend her time with the MOWA Choctaw, also testifying as an expert witness before the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs hearings for federal recognition of the Alabama Choctaw.

They Say the Wind is Red is available from NewSouth Books, Amazon.com, or your favorite local or online book retailer.

Jackie Matte, author of They Say the Wind Is Red, spoke on November 13, 2007 to a group of students at the John Hopkins Center for American Indian Health in recognition of Native American History Month. Students enjoyed a lecture on Jackie’s experiences, and afterward she signed copies of her book.

The John Hopkins Center for American Indian Health (CAIH) works with American Indian tribes to improve the health and self sufficiency of American Indian peoples throughout the country. Click here to learn more about the center.

They Say the Wind Is Red is available directly from NewSouth Books, Amazon.com, or your favorite local or online book retailer.

Jacqueline Matte, author of They Say the Wind is Red, had a Letter to the Editor posted in the Birmingham News on October 25, 2006. Matte writes that she is pleased with the paper���s article about Calcedeaver Elementary School as ���Gov. Bob Riley���s poster child for Alabama���s Reading Initiative program���; however, she says that the children who attend the school, mostly ���poor Native Americans,��� should be recognized as part of the Mowa Band of Choctaw Indians, a tribe still seeking to be recognized by the federal government. Matte also mentions an opportunity she had to interact with the children at that school and to speak with them about her book. From her letter:

I was invited by Calcedeaver’s librarian to speak to the students during the school’s “Meet an Author” program. I talked with them about my book (their history) They Say the Wind is Red: The Alabama Choctaws Lost in Their Own Land. At the end of my talk, we had a question-and-answer session. It was wonderful and inspiring.

I do not understand why The News did not identify the “poor Native American” students, but perhaps it has to do with politics. Nonetheless, they deserve the positive publicity.

Read the full article at the��Birmingham News.

They Say the Wind is Red is available directly from NewSouth Books, Amazon.com, or your favorite local or online book retailer.