Mark Sicoli

Mark Sicoli conducts research with Indigenous communities working for language documentation and revitalization. He is currently working in partnership with the Nottoway Indian Tribe of Virginia on their goal of reconstructing the Nottoway (Iroquoian) language and teaching the language to tribal members. In collaboration with tribal members Benaiah Walters (UVA class of 2018) and Denise Walters, Sicoli introduced a new course at UVA called “Language Revival in the Eastern Tribes” which brings together UVA students and tribal members of the Nottoway and other eastern tribes working to revive their ancestral languages from historical records. This relationship is characterized by reciprocity that brings mutual benefit, developing pedagogical materials for the tribe, and valuable experiences for students in conducting collaborative and applied linguistics research.