It has been a long and interesting journey home, but Joe Watkins has finally made it back to Oklahoma.

Watkins has been named the director of the University of Oklahoma College of Arts and Sciences’ Native American Studies Program. He started his duties in July, following the retirement of the program’s first director, Clara Sue Kidwell.

“I’m very excited to join the university and use the skills I’ve learned in my life to help move the program to a new level,” Watkins said.  “There are plans to make the degree even more valuable by adding tracks to it, such as American Indian health issues and tribal governance.

“I see the bachelor’s program as a strong liberal arts degree whose goal is to produce graduates who can critically evaluate information presented to them and to use it to make good decisions. Our program’s graduates will be able to communicate effectively through the spoken and written word and will be able to bring an informed Native American perspective to the job market.

“I see Native American Studies graduates being able to go to work for tribal groups as well-educated individuals who can perform a job and act as a mediator between tribal cultures and needs and the demands placed on them by outside entities and organizations.”

A member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, Watkins grew up in Wright City, a small town in southeastern Oklahoma. In his varied past, he has worked for the Oklahoma Archeological Survey, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Oklahoma Indian Legal Services and, most recently, the University of New Mexico. 

Watkins received his degree in anthropology from OU in 1973, after which he earned both his master’s and doctoral degrees in archaeology at Southern Methodist University.

“The University of Oklahoma is both fortunate and proud to have attracted Joe Watkins back to his home state to lead the Native American Studies Program,” said Dean Paul B. Bell Jr.  “He is well prepared to lead the program to new levels of excellence.”

“In addition to the new tracks, we would like to begin admitting more students into the master’s program,” Watkins explained.  “We hope to have a sizable graduating class in the next four years, full of well-rounded individuals going back to their communities and contributing to their tribe’s success.”