OKLAHOMA CITY

Legislation to make English the official language of the state of Oklahoma has run into opposition from American Indians, who say their native tongues are dying fast enough without any help from lawmakers.

As Oklahoma observes its centennial year, the English-only issue bring up divisions that persist more than a century after American Indians were forcibly marched to the region and then endured a series of land grabs.

Many of Oklahoma’s 37 federally recognized tribes are fighting to save their languages and cultures from extinction years after the end of organized efforts to stamp them out.

Critics of the English-only legislation point out that Oklahoma’s very name is formed from two Choctaw Indian words — “okla” and “homma” — that mean “red man.”

“If you go to English only, what are we going to call the state of Oklahoma?” asks Terry Ragan, director of the Choctaw Nation’s language program. “Even town names in the state will have to be named differently.”

Supporters of the legislation say it could end bilingual state government documents, such as driver’s license tests, and force immigrants to learn English and assimilate into American society.

English-only legislation has been adopted in 28 states, and measures are pending in 12 others, says Rob Toonkel, the director of communications for U.S. English, Inc. of Washington, D.C., an interest-group that supports making English the nation’s official language. A similar measure has been filed in Congress.

According to Toonkel, the national English-only movement does not want to deprive American Indians of their native languages but is aimed at standardizing government documents into a single language as a symbol of unity for immigrant populations.

“It’s very much an assimilation issue,” he says. “We should make sure they become part of the country.”

But assimilation is a charged word for many American Indians, whose ancestors were forced from their traditional lands and sent on the Trail of Tears in the 19th century.