Rep. Nick LaLota (NY-01) announced a federal grant of $50,000 has been awarded to Guild Hall in East Hampton for their Artist-in-Residence, First Literature Project.
“Revitalizing the Shinnecock language is a wonderful endeavor and I am happy to see Guild Hall receive this funding to help cover costs,” said LaLota. “In Congress, I will always fight for more federal funding to come to Suffolk County. Doing so makes Suffolk County a better and more affordable place to live, work and raise a family.”
Background:
The Guild Hall First Literature Project is working to revive the Shinnecock language. The First Literature Project aims to support the preservation of Indigenous stories, culture and language by utilizing immersive 3D, virtual reality and holographic technology to create two immersive orations to be exhibited at Guild Hall in Spring 2024.
Additionally, another component of this project will include a compilation of all materials utilized to help with Shinnecock language research to create a centralized database that will help with future research, as well as a video archive for the Padoquohan Medicine Lodge to document the interviews with Shinnecock Tribal members. Guild Hall has received funding from the Library of Congress to support the formation and work of Ayím Kutoowonk (She Speaks), a community-based language revitalization group.