About

Presented by Lisa Brighteyes Richardson Deresz, Rappahannock Language Ambassador for the Omisun Project. The language of this land has been sleeping since the 1800s. Many businesses, organizations, and area services bear the name of Rappahannock, a Powhatan Algonquian word that is also the name of one of Virginia's 11 state and federally recognized tribes. Through the process of Language Revitalization, the descendants of the original speakers are beginning to speak their ancestral language again. Understand how a sleeping language can be brought to life again using historical sources and closely related Indigenous languages. Learn how the process of language revitalization differs from preservation, and hear stories of personal experiences while learning the meanings of words you see everyday.

Lisa Brighteyes Richardson Deresz, MS, OTR/L is a Rappahannock Citizen born and raised on Patawomeck and Manahoac land in Fredericksburg, VA. She earned her Bachelor’s in Early Childhood Education from Virginia Tech, and a Masters in Occupational Therapy from Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU). Lisa has been an occupational therapist for 16 years, and is a wife and mother. Lisa works as a Curriculum Development Assistant and teacher for the Powhatan Algonquian Intertribal Roundtable, and as a liaison for the Native Youth Community Project managed by the Virginia Tribal Education Consortium. Lisa manages a library of books for Rappahannock youth, a summer culture camp, and recently spoke at a special VCU graduation ceremony.