Raven Hail was a member of the
Cherokee Nation
The Cherokee Nation ( or ) is the largest of three list of federally recognized tribes, federally recognized tribes of Cherokees in the United States. It includes people descended from members of the Cherokee Nation (1794–1907), Old Cheroke ...
known for her writings on Cherokee culture.
Early life
Hail was born in 1921 in
Washington County, Oklahoma
Washington County is a county located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2020 census, the population was 52,455. Its county seat is Bartlesville. Named for President George Washington, it is the smallest county ...
, a member of the
Cherokee Nation
The Cherokee Nation ( or ) is the largest of three list of federally recognized tribes, federally recognized tribes of Cherokees in the United States. It includes people descended from members of the Cherokee Nation (1794–1907), Old Cheroke ...
. In her early life, Hail lived with her mother on designated Cherokee grounds in
Welch, Oklahoma.
She attended West Anthracite and Prairie Center elementary schools before attending
Oklahoma State University
Oklahoma State University (informally Oklahoma State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States. The university was established in 1890 under the legislation of the Morrill Act. Originally known ...
and
Southern Methodist University
Southern Methodist University (SMU) is a Private university, private research university in Dallas, Texas, United States, with a satellite campus in Taos County, New Mexico. SMU was founded on April 17, 1911, by the Methodist Episcopal Church, ...
.
While in Texas, Hail worked as a bookkeeper and secretary.
She unsuccessfully campaigned for the Texas legislature in 1972. She established the American Indian Theater in Dallas, Texas in 1963; the group toured Dallas and presented examples of Indian arts. Hail was a singer whose songs are preserved on an album called ''The Raven Sings.
'' She was also a writer of plays such as ''The Raven and the Redbird,'' a newsletter called ''The Raven Speaks'' that was published from 1968 until 1972, and books on foods associated with Cherokee culture.
Hale owned a bookstore called Ravenscove
and led traditional instructions on Cherokee beadwork, basketry, singing, dancing, and folklore, preserving Native culture.
In 1997 Hail was living in
Mesa, Arizona
Mesa ( ) is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. The population was 504,258 at the 2020 census. It is the List of municipalities in Arizona, third-most populous city in Arizona, after Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona, T ...
, and spending her time writing about Cherokee culture. She then moved to North Carolina.
Hail died in 2005.
Selected publications
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Awards and honors
Hail's poem "Magic Song of the Little People" won best poem in a native language award from the Southwest Association of Indian Arts in 1995.
References
External links
Cherokee Calendar by Raven Hail Collection at Oklahoma State University Archives
Oral memoir of Raven Hail1972 interview in Baylor University archives
Further reading
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Hail, Raven
1921 births
2005 deaths
American women writers
Cherokee women writers
Cherokee Nation women writers
Cherokee Nation writers