Dorothy Jean Ray (October 10, 1919 – December 12, 2007) was an

author In legal discourse, an author is the creator of an original work that has been published, whether that work exists in written, graphic, visual, or recorded form. The act of creating such a work is referred to as authorship. Therefore, a sculpt ...

and

anthropologist An anthropologist is a scientist engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropologists study aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms, values ...

best known for her study of

Native Alaskan Native may refer to: People * '' Jus sanguinis'', nationality by blood * '' Jus soli'', nationality by location of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Nat ...

art Art is a diverse range of cultural activity centered around ''works'' utilizing creative or imaginative talents, which are expected to evoke a worthwhile experience, generally through an expression of emotional power, conceptual ideas, tec ...

and

culture Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...

. In addition to a number of published books, she has had articles and papers published in '' Alaska History'', '' Alaska Journal'', ''

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

'', '' American Indian Art'', ''

Arctic Anthropology ''Arctic Anthropology'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal covering research on the archaeology, ethnology, and physical anthropology of arctic and subarctic peoples. It is indexed in the Social Sciences Citation Index and Current Contents/Social ...

'', ''

Journal of the West ''Journal of the West'' is a quarterly Peer review, peer-reviewed academic journal covering the history and culture of the American West. Each issue of the journal is highlighted by a series of articles on a theme central to the history and life ...

'', ''

Pacific Northwest Quarterly ''Pacific Northwest Quarterly'' (commonly referred to as ''PNQ'') is a peer-reviewed academic journal of history that publishes scholarship relating to the Pacific Northwest of the United States, including Alaska, and adjacent areas of western Can ...

'', and others. She received

honorary doctorates An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...

from the

University of Alaska Fairbanks The University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF or Alaska) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-, National Sea Grant College Program, sea-, and National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program, space-grant research university in ...

and her alma mater, the

University of Northern Iowa The University of Northern Iowa (UNI) is a public university in Cedar Falls, Iowa, United States. UNI offers more than 90 majors across five colleges. The fall 2024 total enrollment was 9,283 students. The university was initially founded in 1 ...

. Additional honors include the ''Dorothy Jean Ray Anthropology Scholarship'' at the University of Northern Iowa. Some of her lifetime collection of artifacts are now part of the University of Alaska Museum Fairbanks' collection. Her book '' A Legacy of Arctic Art'' has been described as being both a catalog of the collection, and a

memoir A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based on the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autob ...

of the author's lengthy career. She was married to fellow anthropologist and author

Verne F. Ray Verne Frederick Ray, (1905 – September 28, 2003) was anthropology professor at the University of Washington, with a B.A. and M.A. in anthropology from Washington and a Ph.D. (in 1937) from Yale. Ray was one of the first anthropologists at UW, was ...

Books

*''A Legacy of Arctic Art'' – 1996 *''The Eskimos of Bering Strait, 1650-1898'' – 1992 *''Aleut and Eskimo Art'' – 1986 *''Ethnohistory in the Arctic: The Bering Strait Eskimo'' – 1983 *''Artists of the Tundra and the Sea'' – 1980 *''Eskimo Art: Tradition and Innovation in North Alaska'' – 1977 *''Eskimo Masks: Art and Ceremony'' – 1975

References

On-line version of Ray's article "The Billiken" originally published in ''The Alaska Journal'' (Winter 1974)Amazon.com reprint of editorial review of ''A Legacy of Arctic Art'' by Library Journal

External links

presented at the Thirteenth Alaskan Science Conference, August 25, 1962, Juneau, Alaska.
Three Accounts of the Vasilev-Shishmarev Expedition of 1819-1822 Collection
at Dartmouth College Library American art historians American women art historians 1919 births 2007 deaths 20th-century American anthropologists 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American women {{US-art-historian-stub