Verdena Parker facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Verdena Parker
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| Born |
Verdena Leona Chase
March 1, 1936 Hoopa Valley, California
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| Nationality | Hupa |
| Known for | Most fluent speaker of the Hupa language |
Verdena Leona Parker was born on March 1, 1936. Her birth name was Verdena Leona Chase. She is very important because she is the last person who speaks the Hupa language fluently. The Hupa language is a special language from the Athabaskan family. It is spoken by the Hoopa Valley Tribe, who are native people from northern California.
Verdena grew up speaking Hupa. Many children her age were sent away to boarding schools. These schools often kept kids from their families. But Verdena was raised by her grandmother. Her grandmother spoke Hupa with her every day. As she grew up, Verdena kept speaking Hupa with her mother too. This helped her stay very fluent. This was special because many other people in the Hupa community stopped speaking the language.
Who is Verdena Leona Parker?
Verdena Leona Parker is known as the most fluent speaker of the Hupa language. This makes her a very important person for her community. She helps keep the language alive for future generations.
Learning the Hupa Language
Verdena's early life was different from many other children. While others were sent to schools far from home, she stayed with her grandmother. Her grandmother taught her the Hupa language. This daily practice helped Verdena become very good at speaking Hupa. She also continued to speak Hupa with her mother every day. This helped her keep her language skills strong.
Working to Save the Hupa Language
Since 2008, Verdena Parker has been working with researchers. These researchers come from universities like UC Berkeley and Stanford. She helps them by recording herself speaking Hupa. These recordings are very important. They help document, or write down, the Hupa language. This way, others can learn it in the future.
Verdena also helps with projects that aim to bring the language back. These are called language revitalization projects. They try to teach the Hupa language to younger people. This helps make sure the language does not disappear forever. Her work is a big part of keeping the Hupa culture strong.
