Ernestine Hayes was raised in Juneau, and from the age of fifteen lived in California. She moved back to Alaska when she was 40 years old, and at the age of 55, she graduated from the University of Alaska Southeast, magna cum laude. In 2003, she graduated from University of Alaska Anchorage as Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing and Literary Arts. She currently teaches at University of Alaska Southeast and is associated faculty for the University of Alaska Anchorage low-residence MFA program. Hayes is an active promoter of Native rights and culture, and decolonization. Despite this, she does not speak Tlingit herself. For just over a year, she wrote a column, "Edge of the Village", for the Juneau Empire.
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 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
Works
Lingʹit Aanʹi: an Alaska native memoir. University of Alaska Anchorage. 2003.
Blonde Indian: An Alaska Native Memoir. University of Arizona Press. 2006. ISBN 0-8165-2537-4.
Aanka Xóodzi ka Aasgutu Xóodzi Shkalneegί. Hazy Island Books. 2010.
The Story of the Town Bear and the Forest Bear. Hazy Island Books. 2010.
Images of America JUNEAU. Arcadia Publishing. 2013.
Anthologies
Bill Sherwonit, Andromeda Romano-Lax, Ellen Bielawski, eds. (2003). "Point Retreat". Travelers' Tales Alaska: True Stories. Travelers' Tales. ISBN 978-1-885211-96-5.CS1 maint: Uses editors parameter (link)
Essays
"I don't dance for my father". The Juneau Empire. August 8, 2004.
"State too quick to take Native children". The Juneau Empire. August 29, 2004.
"Bias remains the standard". The Juneau Empire. September 28, 2004.
"There's plenty of government, but not much tribe". The Juneau Empire. October 17, 2004.
"An honorary White American eyes suburbs". The Juneau Empire. November 14, 2004.
"Identity is precious enough to protect". The Juneau Empire. February 20, 2005.
"Affirmative action must include action". The Juneau Empire. March 6, 2005.
"Remember who you are". The Juneau Empire. April 3, 2005.
"Indigenous languages key to cultural identity". The Juneau Empire. June 12, 2005.
"University Raven pole needs an Eagle pole to maintain balance". The Juneau Empire. July 3, 2005.
"We've not forgotten love of the land". The Juneau Empire. August 7, 2005.
"Commentary: A trap or box of wisdom: Reaching into the unknown". The Juneau Empire. September 11, 2005.
"Indigenous Language and AI/AN Student Success". The Huffington Post. March 14, 2012.
"Raven's Intelligent Design". The Huffington Post. March 22, 2012.
"It takes a village". The Huffington Post. April 21, 2012.
"Packing the Invisible Knapsack". The Huffington Post. August 1, 2012.
Reviews
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.
