Faculty Profile — Marty Richards

Native American heritage and Russian literature important to instructor

By Meagan Parrish

Marty Richards has felt like an "outsider" her entire life. First, the MATC English instructor is a Native American. Second, Richards puzzles some within her Native American culture simply because she identifies so strongly with Russian literature.

“It’s important for people to know that I am Choctaw, and maybe it’s because I’m doing something you don’t normally see Indians doing, when you consider the stereotypes,” Richards said, referring to the typical convention that Indians are only people who own casinos, have drinking problems and get special treatment.

One aspect of Richards that many have always struggled to understand is her passion for Russian literature and language.

The MATC English instructor’s affection for Russian literature, and most things Russian, began in high school when she first read Fyodor Dostoevsky. With hindsight, Richards said she could see that part of her attraction probably stemmed from the parallels between the tone of Russian and Native American writing.

“There is a deep sense of sorrow that runs through Russian literature and the Russian character. When I think of the Native American past, it is full of sorrow also,” Richards explained.

But Richards hasn’t always had a strong sense of her Choctaw identity. This didn’t come until after Richards suddenly lost what had always been her strongest connection to the Indian world: her grandmother.

In 1997, while Richards was studying Russian in the Czech Republic, her grandmother died in a car accident. The news sparked a sudden need in Richards to relate more intimately with her Choctaw ethnicity and embrace the values and traditions she had learned from her grandmother.

“My grandmother always looked ugliness in the face and smiled,” Richards said.

Her grandmother raised nine children in less than glamorous conditions, yet her grandmother always maintained a sense of humor and a positive outlook on life.

“I hear her laugh daily,” Richards remarked.

Richard’s grandmother had a habit of sharing her wisdom through an oral tradition common among Native Americans.

“She always had little stories to tell,” Richards said.

This fondness for storytelling is something that Richards seems to have inherited and it surfaces often, not only in her passionate teaching of literature, but also in the more mundane exchanges of daily life.

“It drives my husband crazy! I can never just say how my day was. I always have to tell a story and build suspense, with a hook at the end,” Richards laughed.

In her English composition courses, Richards sometimes has students read an essay by Ward Churchill that explores the issue of using Indian names as mascots for sports teams. Richards doesn’t otherwise tend to bring up the subject of her own Native American identity, opting instead for an “old school” approach to teaching that shies from the instructor sharing personal details. But if the issue naturally arises, Richards is content to discuss her heritage and let students who feel on the outside of society know that they are not alone.

In general, Richards is eager to share the wisdom she acquired from her grandmother and Native American philosophy, including respect for the environment and avoiding greediness. These are not only the lessons that help Richards be a better person and Indian; she also thinks these lessons could save the world.

“Sometimes I have this vision that it’s going to be Indians who save modern man from their greed,” Richards proclaimed. “Like there will be some wise teacher who will tell a story and convince everyone that money is not where it’s at.”

Who knows? Maybe that teacher will be Marty Richards.