Team exploring linguistic legacy of Cherokee documents at Beinecke (fwd link)

[Phil Cash Cash]

Team exploring linguistic legacy of Cherokee documents at Beinecke
By Amy Athey McDonald
September 12, 2013

A Christian hymn, written in Cherokee, from the collection of the Beinecke
Rare Book and Manuscript Library. (Photo by Michael Marsland)

In a small classroom on the lower level of the Beinecke Rare Book and
Manuscript Library, a cardboard box, small scraps of paper, and manila file
folders are set out before three researchers. The modest setting belies the
unprecedented project being undertaken.

For the first time ever, the Beinecke is delving into its Kilpatrick
collection of Cherokee manuscripts, nearly 2,000 documents from the late 19
th to mid 20th centuries, all written in the hand of native authors. The
goal is to discover what is in the collection, translate, and catalogue all
the documents, and make them available to researchers and educators.

“We’re looking at personal documents of everyday life, such as diaries and
letters to family members, as well as religious formulas, chants,
incantations, and political documents,” said Lisa Conathan, archivist at
the Beinecke. She has been leading the project with Hartwell Francis,
Cherokee language program director at Western Carolina University and the
Archibald Hanna Jr. Fellow at the Beinecke this September. Both are working
in consultation with Durbin Feeling from the Cherokee Nation in Tahlequah,
Oklahoma, who is a recognized leader in Cherokee translation and author of
the “Cherokee-English Dictionary.”

Access full article below:
http://news.yale.edu/2013/09/12/team-exploring-linguistic-legacy-cherokee-documents-beinecke?utm_source=YNemail&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=yn-09-17-13
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