Nora Ḵeixwnéi Marks Dauenhauer

Tlingit author, poet, scholar, and culture bearer Nora Ḵeixwnéi Marks Dauenhauer (1927-2017) belonged to the Lukaax.ádi (Raven Sockeye) clan from Shaka. Hít (Canoe Prow House) on the Alsek River.

Born in Juneau, Alaska, Nora was raised among master carvers, weavers, and beaders who lived a subsistence lifestyle. She left school at a young age to help support her family, and later returned to obtain her GED. She went on to earn a bachelor's in Anthropology from Alaska Methodist University in Anchorage. She was later awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Alaska Southeast, where she was a professor. Her other awards included: Humanist of the Year (1980), Alaska Governor's Award for the Arts (1989), Community Spirit Award (2005), Lifetime Achievement Award (2007), American Book Award (1991 and 2008), Alaska Women's Hall of Fame Inductee (2010), Indigenous Leadership Award (2011), and Alaska State Writer Laureate (2012).

Nora’s first language was Łingít. As a fluent speaker, she and her husband, Richard, made significant contributions to preserving Tlingit oral traditions in their Classics of Tlingit Oral Literature book series, along with her other publications of prose and poetry. Nora was also a mentor and worked with many language learners and history students who continue to learn and are teaching the next generation of students.

She said: "People are now beginning to take action for language and cultural survival, and my work is to help provide inspiration and tools for this through my writing.”

We’d love to know about the powerful women in your life. Share your images and stories with us on Instagram and Facebook by tagging us (@anchoragemuseum and #ExtraToughWomenAK) and we’ll add them to our ongoing digital curation project. Stay tuned for more #ExtraToughWomenAK posts and come see the exhibition on view through Labor Day.

Photo credit: Bill Hess, courtesy of Sealaska Heritage Institute