Yesa:sahį Language Project

Kihoe hu:k mekureme:čʰen 

Welcome to all who come here.

The Yesa:sahį Language Project is a non-profit organization owned and operated by community members of the Monacan, Haliwa-Saponi, Sappony, Occaneechi, and Ohio Saponi. The YLP's mission is to preserve our ancestral language and catalyze a strong future for our culture and our communities by restoring Yesa:sahį to everyday use.

Our Mission

We are awakening the voices of our ancestors by living and speaking their language.

We have inherited this language from those who came before us, and we are preserving it for those who will come after us.

We accomplish our mission to restore and preserve Yesa:sahį through documentation, teaching, research, collaboration, and traditional practices, carried out by Yesáh community members, researchers, teachers, elders, storytellers, and learners.

Our Activities

Yesáh Community Literacy

We support a monthly, free online language class for members of Yesáh communities, and help to coordinate two immersive language gatherings per year, hosted by the College of William & Mary and Virginia Tech. 

If you are Yesáh and would like to join our classes or extend our language offerings to your community, please reach out by email: yesanechilanguageproject@gmail.com.

Yesáh Cultural Learning

Our language exists in living relationship with our history, our present, and our future. It is a reflection and a guide to how and where we have lived, as well as how and where we live today. For that reason, effective language teaching must also incorporate cultural practices and worldviews. 

We provide a variety of opportunities throughout the year for members of Yesàh communities to learn more about our history, spirituality, and cultural practices.

Linguistics Research & Document Archives

We are working to create a permanent home for the Yesanechi Language Project and establish digital archives (images, recordings, etc.) for our linguistic revitalization work. Archives will be made available to Yesáh community members and approved researchers  working through collaboration with Federal and State tribal entities within our service range.

If you are a non-Yesáh researcher or collaborator seeking information on our research or archival work, please reach out through our Contact Form.

Our Events

Monthly Events

We support a monthly Yesa:sahį class, led and offered by Corey Roberts. For more information or to request admission, email yesanechilanguageproject@gmail.com

Annual Events

Annual Yesá Intertribal Language & Culture Gathering 

This event will take place from July 11-14, 2024 at Virginia Tech. 

The gathering will feature 4 days of experiential language learning through an interactive and immersive approach that integrates history, culture, storytelling and traditional food and lifeways.

The gathering structure will generally follow the below format:

This is a family friendly event: all ages are welcome to participate. Language-focused youth programs and childcare will be available for youth 13 and under.

Registration is now closed. If you have any questions, please email ddhunter@landberry.org 

For more information  see our events page or our Facebook page: https://fb.me/e/eiUrJrcTa