Ernestine Hayes
Encyclopedia
Ernestine Hayes is an Native American (Tlingit) memoirist.
.
She moved back to Alaska when she was 40 years old, and at the age of 55, she graduated from the University of Alaska Southeast
, magna cum laude. In 2003, she graduated from University of Alaska Anchorage
as Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing and Literary Arts.
She currently teaches at University of Alaska Southeast
and is associated faculty for the University of Alaska Anchorage low-residence MFA program.
Hayes is an active supporter of Native rights and decolonization. For just over a year, she wrote a column, "Edge of the Village", for the Juneau Empire.
Book Review Blonde Indian: An Alaska Native Memoir
Author:Becca Gercken, Studies in American Indian Literature
http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/studies_in_american_indian_literatures/v021/21.2.gercken.html
Book Review Observatory Books, Dee Longenbaugh
http://www.observatorybooks.com/Blonde_Indian.htm
Life
Ernestine Hayes was raised in Juneau, and from the age of fifteen lived in CaliforniaCalifornia
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
.
She moved back to Alaska when she was 40 years old, and at the age of 55, she graduated from the University of Alaska Southeast
University of Alaska Southeast
The University of Alaska Southeast is a regional university in the University of Alaska System. Its main campus is located in Juneau and it has extended campuses in Sitka and Ketchikan....
, magna cum laude. In 2003, she graduated from University of Alaska Anchorage
University of Alaska Anchorage
The University of Alaska Anchorage is the largest school of the University of Alaska System, with about 16,500 students, about 14,000 of whom attend classes at Goose Lake, its main campus in Anchorage....
as Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing and Literary Arts.
She currently teaches at University of Alaska Southeast
University of Alaska Southeast
The University of Alaska Southeast is a regional university in the University of Alaska System. Its main campus is located in Juneau and it has extended campuses in Sitka and Ketchikan....
and is associated faculty for the University of Alaska Anchorage low-residence MFA program.
Hayes is an active supporter of Native rights and decolonization. For just over a year, she wrote a column, "Edge of the Village", for the Juneau Empire.
Awards
- 2002 Alaska Native Writer Award Anchorage Daily News Fiction
- 2006 Native America Calling October Book of the Month
- 2007 Kiriyama Prize finalist for Blonde Indian, An Alaska Native Memoir
- 2007 PEN-USA non-fiction award finalist
- 2007 American Book AwardAmerican Book AwardThe American Book Award was established in 1978 by the Before Columbus Foundation. It seeks to recognize outstanding literary achievement by contemporary American authors, without restriction to race, sex, ethnic background, or genre...
. - 2007 HAIL (Honoring Alaska Indigenous Literature) Award
Reviews
Blonde Indian is the memoir of Tlingit writer and story-teller Ernestine Hayes. Because of Hayes' fair hair, her grandmother sang out to her "Blonde Indian, blonde Indian" as Hayes danced along.
Book Review Blonde Indian: An Alaska Native Memoir
Author:Becca Gercken, Studies in American Indian Literature
http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/studies_in_american_indian_literatures/v021/21.2.gercken.html
Book Review Observatory Books, Dee Longenbaugh
http://www.observatorybooks.com/Blonde_Indian.htm