Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation hosts language revitalization conference, builds community
Elon University’s department of Native American and Indigenous Studies held an Indigenous language revitalization conference in LaRose Commons on Nov. 20, filling the space with open discussion and community building. The conference was in partnership with the Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation and led by assistant professor of Native American and Indigenous Studies and professor of the Yesa:sahį language revitalization course Corey Roberts. Chief of the Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation Tony Hayes shared the significance language has for indigenous communities. “It identifies you as a person, it identifies your culture, it identifies traditions,” Hayes said. “And the language brings all of that together.”
