Raven Hail

Hail was born in 1921 in Washington County, Oklahoma, a member of the Cherokee Nation.^[1] In her early life, Hail lived with her mother on designated Cherokee grounds in Welch, Oklahoma.^[2]  She attended West Anthracite and Prairie Center elementary schools before attending Oklahoma State University and Southern Methodist University.^[3][4]

While in Texas, Hail worked as a bookkeeper and secretary.^[5] She unsuccessfully^[6] campaigned for the Texas legislature in 1972.^[7][8] She established the American Indian Theater in Dallas, Texas in 1963; the group toured Dallas and presented examples of Indian arts.^[9] Hail was a singer whose songs are preserved on an album called The Raven Sings.^[2] She was also a writer of plays such as The Raven and the Redbird,^[10] a newsletter called The Raven Speaks that was published from 1968 until 1972,^[11] and books on foods associated with Cherokee culture.^[12][13] Hale owned a bookstore called Ravenscove^[12] and led traditional instructions on Cherokee beadwork, basketry, singing, dancing, and folklore, preserving Native culture.^[5]

In 1997 Hail was living in Mesa, Arizona, and spending her time writing about Cherokee culture.^[14] She then moved to North Carolina.^[5]

Hail died in 2005.^[15][16]

• Hail, Raven (1965-01-01). The Raven and the Redbird – Sam Houston and his Cherokee Wife. Raven Hail.
• Hail, Raven. Native American foods : foods the Indians gave us. OCLC 26017509.
• Hail, Raven (1986). Windsong: Texas Cherokee Princess. Raven Hail Books. ISBN 978-0-9617696-1-1.
• Hail, Raven (2000). The Cherokee Sacred Calendar: A Handbook of the Ancient Native American Tradition. Destiny Books. ISBN 978-0-89281-804-4.^[17]

Hail's poem "Magic Song of the Little People" won best poem in a native language award from the Southwest Association of Indian Arts in 1995.^[18]