Wonder Woman of the Week: Nora Thompson Dean
- Dec 29, 2021
- 2 min read
This week's Wonder Woman is likely more Queen Hippolyta than Diana Prince, Nora Thompson Dean- was born Weenjipahkihelexkwe (Touching Leaves Woman) in 1907 in Oklahoma to the Lenape nation- a culture indigenous to the East Coast of the United States. As someone born to a people in exile, Dean was one of the last people who grew up speaking her people's indigenous language- a rare dialect of Lenape known as Unami. While federal authorities of the era worked hard to eradicate indigenous languages and cultural practices, members of the Lenape nation in Oklahoma fought hard to keep their culture and language alive. Fortunately for both the Lenape and history, Dean paid attention to her lessons.
Nora Thompson Dean spent her childhood immersed in the Lenape culture. When federal authorities finally cracked down and made these practices nearly impossible in public, Dean began recording her people's language and culture in private. Not only did Dean begin recording herself speaking her rare Unami dialect of Lenape to keep the language alive past her own life, but she also began recording a journal of Lenape cultural activities vital to her people's identity. Dean even started a mail-order business for Lenape regalia, art, and craftwork. Audiences across the country not only purchased her products, but also praised the impeccable craftswomanship that went into the products. In fact, Dean was one of several indigenous activists diligently working against US federal policies of her era who were able to change public opinion regarding indigenous cultural practices and alter federal policies regarding cultural suppression.
Nora Thompson Dean's activism earned her the praise of not only her own people or even other indigenous nations, but also historians, sociologists, anthropologists, and politicians who eagerly wanted to work with Dean to help preserve her people's culture and advance their civil rights. Dean partnered with countless social scientists to produce recordings of her culture's language, and preserve cultural artifacts. She also worked with countless historians to help tell the history of her people- leading to much of the knowledge we have today of the Lenape nation including their language, folklore, cultural practices, and indigenous homelands. Later in life, Dean even worked with Oklahoma universities to teach college students her nation's language and art styles- something that would have been illegal at the time of her birth and could very well be illegal today without her work.
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