Creek language in Challenge Bowl

Creek Nation adds language round to Challenge Bowl

By Lenzy Krehbiel-BurtonThe rooms at Trinity Baptist Church were filled with students Thursday testing their knowledge of Muscogee (Creek) Nation history, culture, current events and language at the 11th annual tribe-sponsored Challenge Bowl.

Similar to traditional academic bowl competitions, teams answer toss-up questions by ringing in on a buzzer system.

But this year, the Creek Nation's office that oversees kindergarten through 12th-grade tribal programming added a language round in which questions are asked in English and teams must answer in Creek to receive the points.

Individual students are limited in the number of times per match they can answer.Below:  "Okemah Elementary School fifth-graders Kintv Deere (left) and NaTaiya Wilson, both 11, listen to instructions Thursday during a Challenge Bowl sponsored by the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. The number on Kintv's shirt is in honor of Martha Berryhill, the oldest Creek Nation tribal member, who died recently. The number was Berryhill's number on the Dawes Rolls." (Mike Simons/Tulsa World)