Wednesday, February 7 2024, 4:30pm 221 LeConte Hall Special Information: More information about Western Carolina University's Cherokee Language Program can be found at https://cherokeelanguage.wcu.edu/ Sara Snyder Hopkins Western Carolina University Sara Snyder Hopkins TEDx Lake Junaluska video 2024 UNESCO Decade of Indigenous Languages Lecture Part 1 Sara Snyder Hopkins, Assistant Professor of Anthropology & Sociology, Director of the Cherokee Language Program at Western Carolina University, and an ethnomusicology PhD, will present her ongoing research. Sara translates historical Cherokee language documents and hymns through collaborative community work with EBCI members. She will discuss her current project - Eastern Cherokee Histories in Translation - her methodology, and the centrality of community-based research for revitalizing indigenous languages like Cherokee. Dr. Snyder has recently received an NEH Grant and support from the John W. Heisse Fund to continue this work. Preceding Dr. Snyder's talk will be a special screening of the newest episode of the PBS series Native America, featuring Tom Belt, Cherokee language instructor and Cherokee Nation citizen who now resides on the Eastern Band Qualla Boundary. This episode focuses on Cherokee Language Revitalization in the Cherokee homelands of Southern Appalachia. The Institute of Native American Studies, the Latin American and Caribbean Studies Institute, the Linguistics Department, and Georgia Public Broadcasting are partnering to bring indigenous language speakers and educators to UGA. The UNSECO Decade of Indigenous Languages 2022-2032 is a global initiative to emphasize the value and importance of preserving and revitalizing indigenous languages and the bodies of knowledge they carry. More information on UNESCO Decade of Indigenous Languages 2022-2032 is available here.
