The Name of Gan─Ödagý: Hall: What Does it Mean? Why is it Significant?

Join Jessica Martin (Gayogo╠▒hó:ný╩ö/Cayuga Nation) in a discussion on the importance of “Gan─Ödagý:” in the Gayogo╠▒hó:ný╩ö language, the status of the language, and community-based efforts to promote language learning and revitalization. Martin, as a scholar and teacher of the Gayogo╠▒hó:ný╩ö language, will delve into the linguistic and symbolic significance of “Gan─Ödagý:” and its particular salience in the Cornell context, as well as the role of place-names in language revitalization. Place-names like Gan─Ödagý: hold a wealth of knowledge in Indigenous epistemology, and place figures heavily into the mechanisms of language. Gan─Ödagý: is no different–as the ancestral Gayogo╠▒hó:ný╩ö name for the Ithaca area, Gan─Ödagý: can be translated as “on a hill” or “in the hill.” In 2021, Cornell received permission from the Gayogo╠▒hó:ný╩ö community to bestow this name on one of its residence halls, Gan─Ödagý: Hall, reappearing “Gan─Ödagý:” on this land following the 1807 dispossession of Gayogo╠▒hó:ný╩ö lands and almost two centuries of exile from their traditional homeland. Come and learn about the importance of Cornell’s newest residence hall!

This talk will also include a book giveaway of Cornell Professor Kurt Jordan’s new book, The Gayogo╠▒hóÛ×ëný╔ü People in the Cayuga Lake Region: A Brief History.

Jessica Martin is Wolf Clan Gayogo╠▒hó:ný╩ö from Oswe:g─Ö╩ö (Six Nations of the Grand River). She is currently in her second semester of teaching the Gayogo╠▒hó:ný╩ö language at Cornell.