Ofelia Zepeda (born in Stanfield, Arizona, 1952) is a Tohono O'odham

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

and

intellectual An intellectual is a person who engages in critical thinking, research, and Human self-reflection, reflection about the nature of reality, especially the nature of society and proposed solutions for its normative problems. Coming from the wor ...

. She is Regents' Professor of Tohono O'odham language and linguistics and Director of the American Indian Language Development Institute (AILDI) at The University of Arizona. Dr. Zepeda is also the recipient of a Department of Education grant that establishes a regional resource center for indigenous languages, the West Regional Native American Language Resource Center. Zepeda is the editor fo
Sun Tracks
a series of books that focuses on the work of Native American artists and writers, published by the University of Arizona Press. She is an inductee to the Arizona Women's Hall of Fame.

Life

Zepeda is a professor of

linguistics Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), Morphology (linguistics), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds ...

at the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it ...

and is well-known for her efforts in the preservation of and promotion of literacy in Tohono O'odham. She served as director of the American Indian Studies Program at the University of Arizona from 1986 to 1991. She is a consultant and advocate on behalf of some American indigenous languages. She is the author of ''A Papago Grammar'' and co-author of the article "Derived Words in Tohono O'odham", published in the '' International Journal of American Linguistics''. She was a student of MIT linguistics professor Ken Hale. Zepeda has worked with her tribe to improve literacy in both English and Tohono O'odham. In 1983, she developed ''A Papago Grammar'' from tapes of Native speakers because no textbook existed for the classes she taught. Her work with the reservation committee for Tohono O'odham language policy yielded an official policy that encourages the speaking of the Native language at all grade levels. In 1995 she published a book of poetry, ''Ocean Power: Poems from the Desert'', and she titled the introduction, "Things That Help Me Begin to Remember". In 1999, Zepeda received a MacArthur Fellowship. She was a member of the literary advisory committee for Sun Tracks, a publishing program featuring Native American works, and is the series editor. In 2012, her book of poetry was banned by Tucson schools.

Works

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References

External links

Interview with Ofelia Zepeda on ''Where Clouds are Formed'' by Christopher Nelson
, November 30, 2008

NPR, April 26, 2001
Ofelia Zepeda's author page
on ''Storytellers: Native American Authors Online {{DEFAULTSORT:Zepeda, Ofelia 1952 births Living people University of Arizona faculty Tohono O'odham people MacArthur Fellows People from Pinal County, Arizona Poets from Arizona American women poets Writers from Tucson, Arizona 20th-century American poets 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American poets 21st-century American women writers American textbook writers American women textbook writers Linguists of Uto-Aztecan languages 20th-century American linguists 21st-century American linguists American women linguists Native American linguists American women academics 20th-century Native American people 20th-century Native American women 21st-century Native American women Native American people from Arizona 21st-century Native American writers University of Arizona alumni