Drought in Oklahoma
Thursday's U.S. Drought Monitor report shows areas in the state under drought conditions have doubled in a week. The panhandle is one of the only parts of the state untouched by drought or abnormally dry conditions. That’s because the panhandle received historic rainfalls in June.
Data from the Oklahoma Mesonet shows the rest of the state got about one to four inches less than normal over the past two months.
City utilities are encouraging people to be mindful of water conservation. Norman officials suggest people collect the water while they wait for their showers to warm up and use it to water plants or fill toilet tanks. Oklahoma City requires people to limit their lawn watering to every other day - odd dates or even dates, to match their house number.
Saving the Cherokee language
North Carolina’s Duke University had a different name a century ago: Trinity College. Trinity College ran the Cherokee Industrial Indian Boarding School, which attempted to erase the Cherokee Language. Duke is working to bring the language back.
Growing up in a small town in North Carolina, Gilliam Jackson knew critical English words for any young person like “ice cream” and “Coca-Cola.” But because his first language was Cherokee, he had to learn English from teachers at Snowbird Day School.
“I vividly remember a time when the teacher said the time, ‘it's noon. And in Cherokee, potato is noon," Gilliam said. "So I kind of put two and two together and said, ‘Oh, it must be time to eat.’”
Six decades later, he will teach his first language to Duke University students. The class is an entry level course. But there are plans to expand the course for students who want to continue learning Cherokee. The Duke class will specifically study a dialect used by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. That is slightly different from the dialect spoken here by Oklahoma’s Cherokee Nation.
Roller derby recruiting
A roller derby league in Tulsa is recruiting new members, and league members want to make their sport welcoming to all. Roughnecks Roller Derby hosted their bi-annual recruitment event Wednesday night. The league has focused on welcoming queer Tulsans and those from diverse backgrounds.
Meagan, who goes by her nickname Bits, says she joined to find community.
“When I separated from the army, I needed somewhere to belong. I just kind of felt lost and I wasn’t adapting to civilian life," Bits said.
League President Rebecca Lamantia, also known as Bad Gal Bee, says that inclusiveness is by design. She says there’s a special kind of equality in full-contact sports.
When asked if she thinks Derby has the potential to become a bigger sport, even an Olympic sport, Bee says maybe someday.
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