THE VFA PIONEER HISTORIES PROJECT

Dr. Paula Gunn Allen

October 24, 1939 – May 29, 2008

“What I want from readers is a fundamental recognition that American Indian culture is alive and thriving,” – Paula Gunn Allen, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 1990

Award-winning Indigenous American poet, novelist, activist and professor. Considered a foremother of Indigenous literature. Wrote extensively about her experience as a Native Lesbian. Most acclaimed work is The Sacred Hoop: Recovering the Feminine in American Indian Traditions. Taught courses in Native American studies and English at Ft. Lewis College in Colorado, College of San Mateo, San Diego State University, San Francisco State University, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque. Professor of Native American and ethnic studies, University of California, Berkeley. University of California, Los Angeles, professor of English, creative writing and American Indian studies, 1990–1999. Bachelor’s degree, English, University of Oregon, 1966. Masters of Fine Arts, Creative Writing, University of Oregon, 1968. PhD, American studies, concentration in Native American Literature, University of New Mexico, 1976.