Special Collections and University Archives is pleased to announce a newly published finding aid for the Paula Gunn Allen papers (Coll 519). The finding aid is available on Archives West.

Paula Gunn Allen (1939-2008) was a Native American author, literary critic, activist, and scholar known for her contributions to American Indian studies and the nascent field of Indigenous feminism. She was also a founding leader in the contemporary women’s spirituality movement.

The collection documents Allen’s career as a poet, novelist, essayist, literary critic, and educator. The papers include manuscripts and supplementary material for the following published books: Grandmothers of the Light, The Woman Who Owned the Shadows, Off the Reservation, Spider Woman’s Granddaughters, Song of the Turtle, The Sacred Hoop, As Long as the Rivers Flow, and Skins and Bones. Other manuscripts include a collection of “haggles,” or short essays, screenplays, prefatory material, and unpublished works.

The collection also includes instructional material created by Allen including lecture transcripts, notes, diagrams, and handouts for workshops and seminars led by Paula Gunn Allen in Seattle and the Bay Area between 1984 and 1987. The subjects of these workshops include comparative spirituality, shamanic writing, and Rainbow Warriors. The collection also includes audio recordings of “haggles” and workshops, which require advance notice for use and the production of listening copies.