Ofelia Zepeda

Ofelia Zepeda (born 1952 in Stanfield, Arizona) is a poet and intellectual of the Tohono Oʼodham Nation located in the United States. She is Regents' Professor of Tohono O'odham language and linguistics and Director of the American Indian Language Development Institute (AILDI) at the University of Arizona. Dr. Zepeda is also the recipient of a Department of Education grant that establishes a regional resource center for indigenous languages, the West Regional Native American Language Resource Center.

Zepeda is the series editor for Sun Tracks. University of Arizona Press publishes this series, which focuses on the work of indigenous artists and writers. She is an inductee to the Arizona Women's Hall of Fame.

Life Zepeda is a professor of linguistics at the University of Arizona and is well-known for her efforts in the preservation of and promotion of literacy in Tohono O'odham. She served as director of the American Indian Studies Program at the University of Arizona from 1986 to 1991. She is a consultant and advocate on behalf of some American indigenous languages. She is the author of A Papago Grammar and co-author of the article "Derived Words in Tohono O'odham", published in the International Journal of American Linguistics. She was a student of MIT linguistics professor Ken Hale.

Zepeda has worked with her tribe to improve literacy in both English and Tohono O'odham. In 1983, she developed A Papago Grammar from tapes of Native speakers because no textbook existed for the classes she taught. She was a member of the literary advisory committee for Sun Tracks, a publishing program featuring Native American works, and is the series editor.

Works