A free talk on Indigenous languages in the Cayuga Lake region Thursday evening will open a series of Cornell events exploring the histories and futures of American Sign Language and Haudenosaunee languages.
The first program in “Language, Memory, Future” begins at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 15 at Tompkins County Public Library in Ithaca. Kurt Jordan, a Cornell professor of anthropology and American Indian and Indigenous Studies, will speak about Indigenous peoples and languages in the Cayuga Lake region.
The series runs through Nov. 6 at the library and on Cornell's campus. Organizers say it focuses particularly on the Deaf community and the nations of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, including the Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫʼ, or Cayuga Nation. The programs are part of Cornell's America250 and Arts Unplugged initiatives.
Films and public talks
Cornell Cinema will show two free films Nov. 5, with free popcorn. “Deaf President Now!” starts at 4:30 p.m. and recounts the 1988 student protest at Gallaudet University that led to its first Deaf president. Greg Hlibok, a student leader featured in the film, will speak at the screening.
At 7:30 p.m., “Fancy Dance” follows a woman from the Seneca-Cayuga reservation searching for her missing sister while introducing her niece to a powwow. The series also includes a Cornell University Library exhibit on endangered languages opening Oct. 22 and a World Languages Day event Oct. 24.
Cornell linguistics professor Brenda Schertz will speak at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 29 at Tompkins County Public Library about American Sign Language, place and Deaf community identity. An Indigenous plants walk and talk is scheduled for 1 p.m. Nov. 6 at Cornell Botanic Gardens.
Nov. 6 finale
Daniel Kaufman, director of the Endangered Language Alliance and a Queens College professor, will give a 4:30 p.m. keynote on threatened languages, institutional responses and community-led efforts in Rhodes-Rawlings Auditorium. A reception will follow.
From 6:30 to 9 p.m., the Flying Words Project will perform American Sign Language poetry, and Chris Thomas and the Ongwe’hon:wehkah Smoke Dancers will perform. Attendees will also be able to try words and phrases in ASL and Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫʼ.
Cornell says all events are free and ASL-English interpretation will be available. It lists Klarman Atrium and Rhodes-Rawlings Auditorium as venues for the Nov. 6 programs.
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