A Lasting Legacy
EWU’s Elizabeth Cook-Lynn was one of the nation’s most important Native American scholars.
Elizabeth Cook-Lynn, a professor emeritus of English and Native American studies at EWU, wasn’t just an influential novelist, short-story writer and poet — though her literary legacy speaks for itself — she was also a tireless advocate in support of research and instruction centered on tribal histories and cultures. Among her lasting contributions was a lengthy catalog of scholarly publications and a prominent role in establishing Eastern’s first Indian Education Program, where she introduced hundreds of students to the emerging field of Native American studies.
Working to establish Native studies wasn’t easy. Back in the early 1970s, even as Eastern Athletics finally moved on from its “Savages” nickname, tensions with administrators over the nature and scope of the new program were rife.
“It is my opinion,” Cook-Lynn wrote in 1973 to Emerson Shuck, then Eastern’s president, “that we must no longer do just what is expedient in Indian Education—we 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.” In the end, it was Cook-Lynn’s vision that prevailed, and her “hard work” that moved it forward.
Another notable milestone in Cook-Lynn’s career was her service as founder and editor of the nationally prominent Wicazo Sa Review, a “journal devoted to the mission of assisting Indigenous peoples of the Americas in taking possession of their own intellectual and creative pursuits.” The Wicazo Sa Review remains in print, now published by the University of Minnesota Press.
Cook-Lynn retired in 1990 after 19 years of service. “It is difficult to imagine what Eastern would be like,” wrote a colleague after she stepped down, “if it were not for her enormous contributions of intelligence and care.”
Elizabeth Cook-Lynn died on July 5, 2023. She was 92 years old.
