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Joseph A. Opala (born August 4, 1950) is an American historian noted for establishing the "Gullah Connection," the historical links between the indigenous people of the West African nation of Sierra Leone and the Gullah people of the Low Country region of South Carolina and Georgia in the United States. Opala's historical research began with a study of Bunce Island, the British slave castle in Sierra Leone that was a departure point for many African slaves shipped to South Carolina and Georgia in the mid- and late 18th century Middle Passage. He was the first scholar to recognize that Bunce Island has greater importance for the Gullah than any other West African slave castle. He ranks it as "the most important historic site in Africa for the United States."〔''Bunce Island: A British Slave Castle in Sierra Leone,''(exhibit website )〕 Opala has traveled between Sierra Leone and the South Carolina and Georgia Low Country for 25 years, producing documentary films, museum exhibits, and popular publications on this historical connection. He is best known for a series of "Gullah Homecomings" in which Gullah people traveled to Sierra Leone to explore their historical and family ties to that country.〔("Sierra Leone to South Carolina: Priscilla's Homecoming" by Andrew Jenner )〕 He has drawn on his original research to establish these connections, and the work of earlier scholars, especially Lorenzo Dow Turner, an African-American linguist who in the 1930s and 1940s traced many elements of Gullah speech to West African languages. Opala's research and public history events generated a national dialog in Sierra Leone on the subject of family lost in the Atlantic slave trade. These discussions have continued for almost three decades. The Sierra Leone media first coined the phrase, "Gullah Connection," for the family ties which Opala has brought to light.〔Bernadette Cole, “The Gullah Connection” (interview with Joseph Opala), ''West Africa'' magazine, 19 May 1986〕 He helped generate a similar dialog in the South Carolina and Georgia Low Country, where he has given public lectures and interviews to the local media, and organized workshops for teachers and cultural activists for many years. His work has helped Gullahs recognize their links to African traditions.〔(Jane Fishman, "Childhood Folk Song Traces Woman's Roots" ), ''Spartanburg Herald-Journal'', 24 Nov. 1991〕 Opala’s efforts to bring Sierra Leoneans and Gullahs together through an exploration of their common history have been recognized in both countries. In 2012, Sierra Leone’s President Ernest Bai Koroma awarded Opala the Order of the Rokel, that country’s version of the British knighthood,〔("Professor Joseph Opala Honored in the 2012 National Honors, Insignia and Awards Ceremony" ) ''Cocorioko'' May 31, 2012〕〔("Sierra Leone's President Koroma Awards Professor Joseph Opala for Bunce Island Project" ) ''African Diaspora Tourism'' website〕 and Sierra Leone citizenship the following year. Opala is now a duel citizen of the U.S. and Sierra Leone.〔("Historian Professor Joseph Opala Receives Sierra Leonean Passport" ) ''Sierra Leone Express Media'', December 13, 2013〕 Penn Center,〔(Penn Center website )〕 the oldest Gullah community organization in the United States, in 2013 inducted Opala into its prestigious "1862 Circle” for his work in cultural preservation.〔("Penn Center Gala: The 10th Annual 1862 Circle Gala Celebrates Inductees" ), ''The Island News'' (South Carolina), 9 May 2013〕〔("Penn Center Honors Local, Cultural Leaders During 10th Annual Gala" )''Beaufort Gazette'' (South Carolina), May 18, 2013〕 == Early life and education == Joseph Opala was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma in 1950. His father Marian P. Opala (1921-2010) fought in the Polish Underground in World War II and immigrated to the U.S. in 1947. Opala's father was imprisoned in a Nazi concentration camp (Flossenbürg) during the war, and lost all contact with his surviving family in Poland during the Cold War period that followed.〔("Marian Opala" ), Voices of Oklahoma, Oklahoma oral history archive〕〔Bob Burke & Ryan Leonard, ''Opala: In Faithful Service to the Law,'' Oklahoma Heritage Association, 2012 ()〕 Opala grew up immersed in the effects of World War II and the separation of families.〔("Marian Peter Opala" ), Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture〕〔("Marian P. Opala Obituary" ), ''Oklahoman,'' 14 October 2010, at Legacy.com〕 Later his father became an attorney and was appointed as an Oklahoma Supreme Court Justice. During high school years, Opala was an active member of the Oklahoma Anthropological Society, participating in weekend digs on prehistoric Native American sites in his home state. He spent his summers doing volunteer work in the Oklahoma Historical Society archives. During college, he took part in an archaeological dig run by the University of Wisconsin at Cahokia Mounds, a major Mississippian culture site in Illinois. He also did independent ethnographic research among the Lacandon Indians in Southern Mexico. Opala earned B.A. and M.A. degrees in anthropology at the University of Arizona and the University of Oklahoma, but later turned his attention to history. He did post-graduate study at the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Joseph Opala」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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