Northeastern State University is a public university whose main campus is in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. The university also has campuses in Muskogee and Broken Arrow. Northeastern is Oklahoma's oldest institution of higher learning and one of the oldest west of the Mississippi River. Tahlequah is home to the capital of the Cherokee Nation and about 25% of NSU students identify themselves as American Indian. The university has many courses focused on Native American linguistics, and offers Cherokee language education as a major. Some classes are taught in Cherokee for first language speakers.