Nora Marks Dauenhauer

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. Decades ago I started tape recording songs and stories of the master tradition bearers, most of whom are now departed. These traditional texts are published in our series, “Classics of Tlingit Oral Literature” and can be used for Tlingit language instruction, for teaching culture, and for courses in literature in translation. A new generation of young people are beginning to learn the language, so there is a ray of hope for its survival.

“Because of her work, we will now have a written record of our history, both in English and in Tlingit, as well as a first hand glimpse into the lives of our elders. I feel that these publications of hers are a gift to us, as a community and people." - Nathan P. Jackson, Nominator