Phyllis Bardeau

Phyllis Eileen Williams Bardeau (Gayanögwad) (April 2, 1934 – September 1, 2023) was a Seneca (Onödowáʼga:) author, and educator, and lexicographer. She was best known for her work on the Seneca language, including Seneca language dictionaries.

Biography

Bardeau was born on April 2, 1934 on the Allegany Indian Reservation (Ohi:yo’) in Cattaraugus County, New York. She grew up speaking Seneca with her grandmother on a farm in Coldspring, New York. Following her marriage she moved to the Cattaraugus Reservation (Ga’dä:gë́́sgë:ö’)^[1]

In 1951, Bardeau began to teach the Seneca language, first to a class of adults, then at the high school in Gowanda, New York. She then attended the State University of New York at Buffalo, earning a masters' degree in American Studies in 1994. She served as an instructor there,^[2] and developed a syllabus for courses in the Seneca Language, which were offered beginning in 2019.^[3][1]

She worked on standardizing the Seneca syllabary. She also collaborated with Wallace Chafe on his English–Seneca Dictionary.^[4]

In 1990 she returned to the Allegany Reservation, where she now works on writing, research and documentation of the Seneca Language, and providing support for Seneca Language programs there.^[1]

Bardeau died on September 1, 2023, at the age of 89.^[5]

Publications

Bardeau was the author of several books on Seneca Language and culture.

• Bardeau, Phyllis E. Wms. (2002). onondowa'ga:' gwae:no' (PDF). Cattaraugus Territory: Seneca Nation Education Department. ISBN 0-9743377-0-6. Retrieved January 6, 2023.
• Bardeau, Phyllis E. Wms. (2003). Iroquois Woodland Favorites. Seneca Nation Education Department. Retrieved January 7, 2023.
• Bardeau, Phyllis E. Wms. (2007). The Seneca Verb Labeling the Ancient Voice (PDF). Seneca Nation Education Department. Retrieved January 7, 2023.
• Bardeau, Phyllis E. Wms. (2008). Fundamentals of Seneca (PDF) (revised ed.). Seneca Nation. Retrieved January 7, 2023.
• Bardeau, Phyllis E. Wms. (2010). Definitive Seneca It's in the Word. Salamanca, NY: RAJ Publications. ISBN 978-0-359-81740-5.
• Bardeau, Phyllis. "Seneca Language Teacher's Dictionary" (PDF). senecalanguage.com. Seneca Nation Education Department. Retrieved January 5, 2023.
• Bardeau, Phyllis Eileen Wms. The Standing Pot. ISBN 9781716867590.
• Bardeau, Phyllis E. Wms. (2017). A Woodland Creation Story (PDF). The Seneca Allegany Language Department. Retrieved January 7, 2023.

References

1. Bardeau, Phyllis E. Wms. (2002). onondowa'ga:' gwae:no' (PDF). Cattaraugus Territory: Seneca Nation Education Department. ISBN 0-9743377-0-6. Retrieved January 6, 2023.
2. VanOoteghem, Michelle (November 5, 1992). "Native American Month". No. v. 103 iss. 28. The Michigan Daily. Retrieved January 7, 2023.
3. "UB Now Offers Seneca and Mohawk Language Courses". University at Buffalo Honors College. Archived from the original on September 21, 2020. Retrieved January 2, 2023.
4. Chafe, Wallace L.; et al. English-Seneca Dictionary (PDF). Retrieved December 26, 2022.
5. "Phyllis Eileen Bardeau". Legacy. Retrieved 24 September 2024.