Welcome To More Words Here
Mary TallMountain (1918 – 1994) was only six when she was adopted out of her Native village of Nulato. Cut off from her family and her people, Mary survived a childhood marred by trauma and a rebellious young adulthood by grounding herself in her Native culture and developing her talent for writing.
Denakkanaaga’s mission is to pass on the wisdom of our elders. Mary TallMountain was one of our elders. Her lifelong struggle to exist in two worlds echoes the struggles many of our people still face today. We feel strongly that Mary’s story, as told through her glorious poetry, will help our people – and all people – respect the dignity and power of their own stories.
LIVE PERFORMANCES
Two Live Performances in Two Different Locations
Link to Coming Home: The Life & Poetry of Mary TallMountain videotaped in 100-seat theater at Morris Thompson Cultural & Visitors Center, Fairbanks, Alaska, April 26, 2025
Hear Mary Read Her Own Poetry
Link to Bill Moyers’ interview with Mary on PBS series: Ancestral Voices; The Power of Stories, 1989
Listen to Healing Power of Mary’s Stories
Link to Interviews videotaped at Andrew K. Demoski School, Nulato, Alaska May 2-4 2025
Writing and discussion prompts
More to come on using stories to heal from trauma
Link to Coming Home: The Life & Poetry of Mary TallMountain videotaped in the gym at
Andrew K. Demoski School, Nulato, Alaska, May 4, 2025
COMING HOME PRODUCTION TOOLKIT
This Toolkit contains everything you need to create your own Coming Home production. You can view and download all of the following elements separately or download the complete toolkit:
“How-To-Guide” for using the Toolkit
Script of Coming Home
Slideshow to Accompany Script
Pronunciation Guide to Koyukon Words in the script
Template for Publicity Flyer
Audience Evaluation Form
More About Mary
Mary, Age 2
"Coming Home" at Nulato
