Legacy of Distinction

The establishment of our weeklong Elder-in-Residence continues a tradition begun early on in our program. The individuals listed here are among the eminent American Indian leaders to visit us in the last two decades. We are grateful for their rich contributions to the history and the future of the WVU Native American Studies Program.

(This listing first appeared in the Spring 2002 NAS newsletter)

1982 Dr. Rennard Strickland (Osage, Cherokee), Dean, Univ. of Oregon School of Law

1983 Suzan Shown Harjo (Cheyenne, Hodulgee Muscogee), Poet, Writer, Lecturer, Policy Analyst, President & Executive Director of the Morningstar Institute, Washington D.C.

1984, 1994 Luci Tapahonso (Navajo), Poet, Professor of English & American Indian Studies, Univ. of Arizona

1985, 1996 Chief Oren Lyons (Onondaga), Faithkeeper-Iroquois Confederacy

1986, 1995 Peterson Zah (Navajo), former Chairman & President of the Navajo Nation, Special Advisor to Arizona State Univ. President, Lattie F. Coor

1987 Elizabeth Cook-Lynn (Crow Creek Sioux), Poet, Professor Emerita, English & Native American Studies at Eastern Washington Univ., Founding Editor Wicazo Sa Review

1988, 2000 Linda Hogan (Chickasaw), retired Associate Professor of English & Native Studies at the Univ. of Colorado, Writer, Environmentalist

1989 Paula Gunn-Allen (Laguna Pueblo, Sioux), Writer, Literary Scholar & Critic, Professor of English at UCLA

1990 Chief Wilma Mankiller (Cherokee), former Principal Chief, Cherokee Nation, Tahlequah, Okalahoma

1992 The “Rediscovery of Our American Indian Heritage” Series welcomed:

Chief Leon Shenandoah (Onondaga), Tadodaho, Iroquois Confederacy, Keynote Speaker for Series, presided over WVU’s first Peace Tree Ceremony (now deceased)

John C. Mohawk (Seneca), Scholar, Writer, Associate Professor, Co-Director of the Center for the Americas & Director of Indigenous Studies, SUNY Albany

Don Tenoso (Hunkpapa Lakota Sioux), Doll-Maker, Smithsonian Institute Exhibitor

Robert TallTree (Chippewa), Silversmith, Storyteller, Award-Winning Flute Player

1996 Chief Jake Swamp (Mohawk), Founder of the Tree of Peace Society, Author, Storyteller

1998 Dr. Henrietta Mann (Southern Cheyenne), Author, Educator, Endowed Chair in Native American Studies, Montana State Univ., Bozeman

2000 Freeman Owle (Eastern Band Cherokee), Lecturer, Traditional Storyteller

2000, 2002 Angaangaq Lyberth (Inuk), internationally-recognized Elder for the Native Communities of North & South America, Arctic Europe, Russia & Siberia, Member, North American Institute of Elders & Youth

2001 Lori Arviso Alvord, M.D. (Navajo), surgeon, Associate Dean for Student and Minority Affairs, Dartmouth Medical School

2001 “ Eastern Woodland American Indian Conference: Claiming Our Heritage for the Future” (at WVU)

See our Fall 2001 newsletter for a full listing of conference speakers.

Our Program gratefully acknowledges the support of all those who’ve helped establish this legacy, including the Reyer Endowment for Native American Studies, the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences, and the many other WVU colleges, departments and programs who have shown their widespread support over the years, as well as the West Virginia Humanities Council and the National Park Service.