Allison Hedge Coke
Dan and Maggie Inouye Chair in Democratic Ideals
Poet, writer, editor, and activist Allison Adelle Hedge Coke is the author of numerous books, including the award-winning Streaming, Dog Road Woman, and Blood Run. A Distinguished Professor at UC Riverside, Hedge Coke’s work addresses culture, climate, labor, land, and other issues affecting Indigenous and marginalized communities. Her numerous awards include the American Book Award, the inaugural First Jade Nurtured Sihui Female International Poetry Award, and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Native Writers Circle of the Americas. In 2016, Hedge Coke was selected as the Library of Congress Witter Bynner Fellow.
Hedge Coke’s keynote address takes the form of a film reflection on 2020. Combining testimonials, poetry, and prose, she reminds us that the strength and wisdom to rise is within us and around us, emanating from our lands and seas.