Tlingit attorney Liz Medicine Crow works for the Native Policy Center at the First Alaskan’s Institute in Anchorage.
Medicine Crow comes from a family where advanced education has always been considered important and women in her family have made academic history more than once.
Her sister was the first Tlingit woman to graduate from MIT and her grandmother was one of the first Haida women to get a bachelor’s degree in the 1930s.
Story by Lori Townsend, APRN – Anchorage
Above: Liz’s parents Della and Bill Cheney, “work together to put the finishing touches on the Women of Justice Robe,” she says. Her father “built the weaving frame for the robe out of wood he harvested and milled himself.” Photo by Liz Medicine Crow.
Middle:Â Mamie Jones (Liz’s Naanii [Grandmother] from Haida Gwaii), Clara Natkong (from Hydaburg), and Mona Jackson (from Haida Gwaii, Hydaburg, and Kake). Liz’s namesake is Mamie. “These three sisters were a force to be reckoned with and have inspired a deep love for our Haida culture amongst all of their descendants,” Liz says. Photo provided by Liz Medicine Crow.
Download Audio (MP3)
