Verdena Parker
Verdena Parker | |
|---|---|
| Born | Verdena Leona Chase Shoemaker March 1, 1936 Hoopa Valley, California, U.S. |
| Died | March 7, 2026 (aged 90) |
| Citizenship | Hupa |
| Known for | Last fluent speaker of the Hupa language |
Verdena Leona Parker (née Chase Shoemaker; March 1, 1936 – March 7, 2026) was the last fluent speaker of the Hupa language,[1] an Athabaskan language spoken by the Hoopa Valley Tribe, indigenous to northern California. While other children of her generation were sent to boarding schools, isolating them from their families, Parker was raised by her grandmother, who spoke Hupa with her.[2][3] Through adulthood, Parker continued to speak Hupa with her mother daily, maintaining a high level of fluency despite language loss in the rest of the Hupa community.[1][4]
Beginning in 2008 and continuing through the present, Parker regularly worked with researchers at UC Berkeley and Stanford to provide recordings of spoken Hupa for the documentation of the Hupa language.[2][5] She was also active in language revitalization projects.[6]
Parker died on March 7, 2026, six days after her 90th birthday.[7]
References
- ^ a b Evans, Nicholas (2010). Dying words: endangered languages and what they have to tell us. Chichester, U.K.: Wiley-Blackwell. ISBN 978-0-631-23305-3.
- ^ a b Newberry, Daniel. "Rescuing Languages From Extinction: The Experience of the Hoopa Valley, Karuk, and Yurok Tribes". Jefferson Public Radio. Archived from the original on 6 March 2012. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
- ^ Miller, Dave; Blanchard, Dave (July 2, 2015). "At Home With A Language's Last Native Speaker". opb.org. Oregon Public Broadcasting. Archived from the original on July 30, 2019. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
- ^ Spence, Justin (January 2016). "Lexical Innovation and Variation in Hupa (Athabaskan)". International Journal of American Linguistics. 82 (1). U of Chicago P: 71–91. doi:10.1086/684424. S2CID 146938496.
- ^ "Survey projects". The Survey of California and Other Indian Languages. Department of Linguistics, University of California, Berkeley. Retrieved November 29, 2011.
- ^ Lara, Callie (August 2, 2011). "Opinion". Two Rivers Tribune. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved November 29, 2011.
- ^ "In Loving Memory: Verdena Leona Chase Parker". Two Rivers Tribune on Facebook. March 17, 2026. Retrieved March 22, 2026.