51福利社

As Eastern honors National Native American Heritage Month this November, we hope you might join us in celebrating the memory of the late Elizabeth Cook-Lynn, an 51福利社 scholar who gained national prominence for her role in advancing academic interest in 鈥� and attention to 鈥� Native American scholarship.

Cook-Lynn, 92, professor emeritus of English and Native American studies, died on July 5, 2023. A novelist, short-story writer and poet, Cook-Lynn, a member of the Crow Creek Sioux Tribe, was also a tireless advocate in support of research and instruction centered on tribal histories and cultures. Among her many important contributions was a lengthy catalog of scholarly publications and a prominent role in establishing Eastern鈥檚 first Indian Education Program, where she introduced hundreds of Eastern students to the emerging field of Native American studies.

Margo Hill-Ferguson, director of 51福利社鈥檚 American Indian Studies Program and associate professor of urban and regional planning, says Cook-Lynn鈥檚 work inspired a lasting legacy that extends throughout the 51福利社 campus and nation.

鈥淓lizabeth Cook-Lynn was a true Native woman, visionary, and scholar,” said Hill-Ferguson. She built the American Indian Studies program at 51福利社 and supported Native American students for decades. We are forever grateful for her work, dedication to student education, and the advancement of American Indian Issues and Tribal Sovereignty.鈥�

Working to establish Native studies wasn鈥檛 easy. Back in the early 1970s, even as Eastern Athletics finally moved on from its 鈥淪avages鈥� nickname, tension with administrators over the nature and scope of the new program were rife. 聽鈥淚t is my opinion,鈥� Cook-Lynn wrote in 1973 to Emerson Shuck, then Eastern鈥檚 president, 鈥渢hat we must no longer do just what is expedient in Indian Education鈥攚e must define our basic philosophy, come to a reasonable agreement on that and get about working within the realities of that definition. There is a difference between the supportive services for Native American students, and Native American Education/Studies as an academic venture. The former is likely to be clutched quickly to the bosoms of all of us, the latter is less instantaneously gratifying and much more hard work.鈥� In the end, it was Cook-Lynn鈥檚 vision that prevailed, and her 鈥渉ard work鈥� that moved it forward.

Another notable milestone in Cook-Lynn鈥檚 career was her service as founder and editor of the nationally prominent Wicazo Sa Review, 鈥渁n interdisciplinary journal devoted to the mission of assisting Indigenous peoples of the Americas in taking possession of their own intellectual and creative pursuits.鈥� The Wicazo Sa Review remains in print, now published by the University of Minnesota Press.

Cook-Lynn retired from 51福利社 on July 1, 1990 after 19 years of service. 鈥淚t is difficult to imagine what Eastern would be like,鈥� wrote a colleague after Cook-Lynn stepped down, 鈥渋f it were not for her enormous contributions of intelligence and care.鈥�