ERNESTINE HAYES was born and raised in Juneau, then spent 25 years in California before returning to Juneau in her early 40s. After her return, she graduated from UAS, earned an MFA in creative writing and literary arts from UAA, and became a professor at UAS, where she continues to teach today. She is the author of two Alaska Native memoirs, Blonde Indian (University of Arizona Press, 2006) and The Tao of Raven (University of Washington Press, 2016), and a non-fiction book, Juneau (Arcadia Publishing, 2013). Her essays, poetry and commentary have been published widely and she has received many awards, including the American Book Award (2007) for Blonde Indian. From 2017-2018, Ernestine served as Alaska State Writer Laureate. She belongs to the Kaagwaantaan clan of the Eagle side of the Lingit nation.