Nora Guinn (November 11, 1920 – July 6, 2005) was an American

judge A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other Evidence (law), evidence presented by the barris ...

. In 2009, she was inducted into the

Alaska Women's Hall of Fame The Alaska Women's Hall of Fame (AWHF) recognizes women natives or residents of the U.S. state of Alaska for their significant achievements or statewide contributions. It was conceived by the board of directors of the Alaska Women's Network (AWN) ...

. She was the first woman and first

Alaska Native Alaska Natives (also known as Native Alaskans, Alaskan Indians, or Indigenous Alaskans) are the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous peoples of Alaska that encompass a diverse arena of cultural and linguistic groups, including the I ...

to be a

District Court Judge District courts are a category of courts which exists in several nations, some call them "small case court" usually as the lowest level of the hierarchy. These courts generally work under a higher court which exercises control over the lower co ...

in Alaska.

Early life and education

Nora Venes was born in 1920 in

Akiak, Alaska Akiak () is a city in Bethel Census Area, Alaska, United States. The population was 462 at the 2020 census, up from 346 in 2010. It is the home of the Akiak Native Community. Geography and climate Akiak is located at (60.912220, -161.21389 ...

. Her parents were named Joe and Anna Venes. She went to school at Eklutna as a child. She moved to

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

to attend

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

. In 1939, she married Charlie Guinn. They moved back to Alaska. They married in

Bethel, Alaska Bethel () is a city in the U.S. state of Alaska, located on the Kuskokwim River approximately from where the river flows into Kuskokwim Bay. It is the largest community in western Alaska and in the Unorganized Borough and the List of cities in ...

and lived and worked in Tununak. They worked for the

Bureau of Indian Affairs The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), also known as Indian Affairs (IA), is a United States List of United States federal agencies, federal agency within the U.S. Department of the Interior, Department of the Interior. It is responsible for im ...

, teaching. They moved back to Bethel in 1945 to raise their 10 children.

Career

Guinn became United States Commissioner before Alaska became a state. After Alaska became a state, she became the first

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judi ...

of Bethel in 1959. She became

for the state, in 1967, despite not being a

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

. This made her the first woman, and first Alaska Native, to serve as a District Court Judge. She became involved in educating

law enforcement Law enforcement is the activity of some members of the government or other social institutions who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by investigating, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules and norms gove ...

and the judicial community about the needs and rights of

Alaska Natives Alaska Natives (also known as Native Alaskans, Alaskan Indians, or Indigenous Alaskans) are the Indigenous peoples of Alaska that encompass a diverse arena of cultural and linguistic groups, including the Iñupiat, Yupik, Aleut, Eyak, Tli ...

. She worked closely with Sadie Brower Neakok. In court, Guinn would speak to

defendant In court proceedings, a defendant is a person or object who is the party either accused of committing a crime in criminal prosecution or against whom some type of civil relief is being sought in a civil case. Terminology varies from one juris ...

s in English, and also in Yupik as necessary. She retired in 1976. In 1978, she was given an

honorary doctorate 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 hon ...

by the

University of Alaska Anchorage The University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) is a public university in Anchorage, Alaska, United States. UAA also administers four community campuses spread across Southcentral Alaska: Kenai Peninsula College, Kodiak College, Matanuska–Susitna C ...

Later life and legacy

Bella Hammond Bella Hammond (born Bella Gardiner, December 21, 1932 – February 29, 2020) was an American activist and commercial fisherman. Hammond served as the First Lady of Alaska from 1974 until 1982 during the tenure of her husband, former Governor Jay ...

gave Guinn the First Lady's Volunteer Award in 1979. She was named Alaska Native Woman of the Year Award in 1983. The following year she was named Calista Citizen of the Year. Charlie Guinn died in 1993. Nora Guinn died in 2005. In 2009, she was inducted into the

. The

Alaska Bar Association The Alaska Bar Association (ABA) is a mandatory bar association responsible for the Alaska Supreme Court and for the admission and discipline process of attorneys for the state of Alaska. Governance The association is governed by a Board of ...

named an award after Guinn. In 2007, the city of Bethel named the Bethel Courthouse after Guinn.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Guinn, Nora 1920 births 2005 deaths 20th-century Alaska Native people Alaska Native women Alaska state court judges People from Bethel, Alaska Yupik people 20th-century American judges 20th-century American women judges