Blair A. Rudes Indigenous Language Collection

Updated Algonquian Word List by Scott Dawson

Algonquian is not a tribe, nor a language, but a language family with at least 29 dialects. The following is a list of words used by the Croatoan compiled by Scott Dawson. [Continue reading…]

The First Description of an Iroquoian People: Spaniards Among the Tuscaroras before 1522

by Dr. Blair A. Rudes. ABSTRACT: It is widely accepted that the first documented encounter between Europeans and the Iroquois occurred in 1534 when the French explorer Jacques Cartier encountered the Laurentians. The Iroqouis, however, say that they had met Spaniards before the French arrived. A re-examination of a document pertaining to early Spanish explorations of North America in the context of the history of the League of the Iroquois shows that both the Western and Native views of history are correct. [Continue reading…]

Giving Voice to Powhatan – Dr. Blair Rudes

December 15, 2011

by Dr. Blair A. Rudes. This paper was shared with us by Dr. Rudes in 2006 as part of an ongoing dialogue we had with him about his work with the Algonquian language on the film The New World. In the paper, he explains the process he underwent to reconstruct the language of the Powhatan’s [...]

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Chief Elton Greene’s Tuscarora Dictionary

December 15, 2011

Although not produced by Dr. Rudes, this word list was the first publicly available Tuscarora language dictionary available until Dr. Rudes completed his thorough and accurate Tuscarora-English/English-Tuscarora dictionary. This particular dictionary was published by the late F. Roy Johnson. The Tuscarora translations of English words are not exactly correct in their phonetic pronunciations, but considering [...]

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Tuscarora Place Name Etymologies

December 15, 2011

by Dr. Blair A. Rudes – Translations of several Tuscarora place names.

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Croatoan Word List by Scott Dawson

December 15, 2011

The following was submitted by Scott Dawson (Hatteras). The extended definitions first four words were provided by Dr. Blair A. Rudes.

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Coastal Algonquian Language Sampler

December 15, 2011

The following is a sampling of the Coastal Algonquian language that was translated by Dr. Blair A. Rudes at the request of Coastal Carolina Indian Center in 2006. We’re thankful to Dr. Rudes for his assistance with this project. We are saddened by his unexpected passing in 2008 — not only by the loss of [...]

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The Algonquian Language Reborn: An Interview with Blair Rudes

December 15, 2011

CCIC: How did you get into studying indigenous languages? Dr. Rudes: When I first entered graduate school to study for my Master’s degree at the State University of New York at Buffalo, I was primarily interested in the Celtic languages, in particular Irish Gaelic, since my mother’s side of the family comes from Ireland. I [...]

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Memorial: Remembering Our Friend, Blair A. Rudes – Linguistics Advisor to CCIC

December 15, 2011

Blair A. Rudes – 1951-2008 28 March 2008 It is with much sadness that we report the news that our dear friend and linguistics advisor, Blair Rudes, passed away from a heart attack on March 16th. Any regular visitors to our website or listeners to our lectures should be well-familiar with Dr. Rudes’ name, as [...]

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Obituary: Blair A. Rudes, PhD – Linguistics Advisor to CCIC

December 14, 2011

Remembering Blair Rudes Blair A. Rudes, 56, died suddenly on March 16, 2008 in Charlotte, NC. Dr. Rudes was born in Gloversville, NY on May 18, 1951 and spent his youth in Piseco, NY. After completing his early education at Piseco Elementary School and Wells Central High School, he attended the State University of New [...]

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