[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 79 (Monday, May 13, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2784-S2785]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO JADE OSCEOLA

 Mr. RUBIO. Mr. President, today I recognize Jade Osceola, the 
Glades County Teacher of the Year from Pemayetv Emahakv Charter School 
in Okeechobee, FL. Pemayetv Emahakv means ``Our Way'' in Creek, the 
native tongue of Florida's Seminole Indian Tribe.
  Jade strives to teach her students about their identities as Native 
Americans and encourages them to practice communicating with each other 
in the Muscogee ``Creek'' language. She knows her students want to 
understand their heritage, and she believes learning about their 
ancestors' native language is a key to their identity. She works each 
day to help preserve the Seminole Tribe of Florida's cultures and 
traditions.

[[Page S2785]]

  As a student at Seminole Elementary School in the 1990's, Jade 
participated in a weekly culture class on the Brighton Reservation to 
learn about Seminole history. This was her favorite class and served as 
an inspiration for her continued learning of Native American affairs.
  Like her students, Jade is a second language learner of Creek. She 
believes teaching the language to her students is very important, as 
there are only 33 speakers of the language left in the region. She is 
dedicated to doing everything she can to keep the language alive for 
future generations.
  Jade teaches Creek 1 and 2 at Pemayetv Emahakv Charter School to 
seventh and eighth grade students. She graduated from Edison College in 
2004 and was offered a job teaching Seminole history. The weekly 
program helped the creation of the charter school in 2007, where Jade 
taught Seminole history until 2015.
  I extend my sincere thanks and gratitude to Jade for her dedication 
to her students and the Seminole Tribe of Florida, and look forward to 
hearing of her continued success in the years to come.

                          ____________________