Congratulations to Fallon Burner (B.A., ’20), who has been announced as the 2020 recipient of the Rita Ross Undergraduate Prize in Canadian Studies, for her paper "Healing Through Language: Revitalization and Renewal in the Wendat Confederacy." The Rita Ross Undergraduate Prize recognizes outstanding original research on a Canadian topic by a UC Berkeley undergraduate student.
From the Annoncement: “Ms. Burner's winning project, 'Healing Through Language: Revitalization and Renewal in the Wendat Confederacy,' was undertaken as a year-long capstone honors thesis for Berkeley's history department, and was partially sponsored by Canadian Studies. The thesis examines the history of the languages of the Wendat Confederacy, showing the vital role that language plays in the Indigenous community, how its history is tied to issues of erasure and survival, and the role that language revitalization projects have in addressing transgenerational trauma. It also advocates for increasing Native voices in the field of history, and suggests ancestral language proficiency is a key aspect of this process.”
You can read the full announcement here. Fallon Burner is also the recipient of the American Cultures Student Prize. More info forthcoming.