Ernestine Saankaláxt Hayes (born 1945) belongs to the Kaagwaaataan clan, also known as the wolf house, representing the Eagle side of the Tlingit Nation. Hayes is a Tlingit author and an Emerita retired professor at the

University of Alaska Southeast The University of Alaska Southeast (UA Southeast, Alaska Southeast, or UAS) is a public university with its main campus in Juneau, Alaska and extended campuses in Sitka and Ketchikan. It is part of the University of Alaska System and was estab ...

(UAS) in Juneau, Alaska. As an author, Hayes is a (Tlingit)

memoirist A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based in the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autobiog ...

, essayist, and poet. She was selected as the Alaska State Writer Laureate in 2016 and served in that position until 2018.

Early life

Ernestine Hayes, with ancestors of Tlingit descent from the Island of Sitka, was born in Juneau Indian Village. Hayes was raised by her mother and grandmother in Juneau, where she spent her first fifteen years learning about her heritage, the Tlingit language, and the traditions of Alaskan Natives. At the age of fifteen, Hayes and her mother moved out of Alaska, to California.

Career

Hayes returned to Alaska twenty-five years later, in 1985, where Hayes graduated ''magna cum laude'' from the

''.'' In 2003, she graduated from

University of Alaska Anchorage The University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) is a public university in Anchorage, Alaska. UAA also administers four community campuses spread across Southcentral Alaska: Kenai Peninsula College, Kodiak College, Matanuska–Susitna College, and Pr ...

with a Master of Fine Arts degree in Creative Writing and Literary Arts. Almost immediately after earning her MFA, she began teaching at the

, while also serving as associated faculty for the University of Alaska Anchorage's low-residence MFA program. Hayes actively promotes Native rights and culture, and strives to help decolonize the institution. For just over a year, she wrote a column, "Edge of the Village," for the ''

Juneau Empire The ''Juneau Empire'' is a newspaper in Juneau, Alaska, United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in ...

''. As State Writer Laureate, from 2016 to 2018, Hayes visited many small communities of Alaska, like Seward and Seldovia, where she held two-day creative writing workshops. Right now, Hayes is working on a her third Alaskan Native Memoir.

Reviews

Blonde Indian

''Blonde Indian,'' a memoir of Hayes's childhood in Southeast Alaska is written with traditional Tlingit stories, fictional character, and historic moments. ''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. The fictional tale of “Tom,” coincides with an experience similar to Hayes, an Alaskan Native child who is separated from their traditional lifestyle and heritage. In ''Blonde Indian,'' Hayes elaborates on her experiences in Western society, narrating her lived experience and traditional stories to honors her

Tlingit The Tlingit ( or ; also spelled Tlinkit) are indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast of North America. Their language is the Tlingit language (natively , pronounced ),

ancestors and tradition, while shedding light on the impact of colonization on indigenous children and families. ''Blonde Indian'' has received much critical acclaim. It was awarded the

American Book Award The American Book Award is an American literary award that annually recognizes a set of books and people for "outstanding literary achievement". According to the 2010 awards press release, it is "a writers' award given by other writers" and "the ...

in 2007.

The Tao of Raven

A continuation of her work in ''Blonde Indian, The Tao of Raven: an Alaskan Native Memoir'' weaves together traditional Alaskan Native storytelling and life lessons, with personal memories from Hayes, and legends of the Raven, and the Spider. Thematically, the book centers around redefining the meaning of “treasure,” a word that Hayes explained as the time we’ve spent on the earth, rather than any material commodity.

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

. *2007 HAIL (Honoring Alaska Indigenous Literature) Award *2014 Alaska Literary Award *2015 Rasmuson Artist, Djerassi Artist Residency *2015 AWARE Woman of Distinction *2016 Named Alaska State Writer Laureate for 2017-2018 *2021 Rasmuson Foundation Distinguished Artist Award

Works

* * * * * *Tao of Raven: An Alaska Native Memoir. 2017.

Anthologies

Essays

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

References

External links

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"Winter in Lingit Aani Brings Magpies and Ravens""Hayes Wins American Book Award for her Memoir, 'Blonde Indian'""Children's Book Aims to Save Dying Alaska Language"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hayes, Ernestine 1945 births Living people 21st-century Native Americans Alaska Native people American biographers American Book Award winners American memoirists Native American writers People from Juneau, Alaska Tlingit people University of Alaska Anchorage alumni American women memoirists Writers from Alaska 21st-century Native American women Native American women writers