Quick Facts
| Intro | Iroquois historian |
| Was | Writer |
| From | United States of America |
| Type | Literature |
| Gender | female |
| Birth | 1932, Los Angeles, USA |
| Death | 2000 (aged 68 years) |
| Peoplepill ID | paula-underwood |
Biography
Paula Underwood (1932–2000) was an American author, who primarily wrote about Native Americans in the United States.
Career
Underwood wrote several award-winning books and contributed to numerous publications. A speaker, lecturer, and teacher, she founded and directed the Learning Way company, a developer of an educational program: The Past is Prologue. She is known for her "learning stories" and "The Learning Way."
Background
Underwood was born in Los Angeles, California to Perry Leonard Underwood, from Lincoln, Nebraska and Vida Lora (Webster) Underwood, from Springfield, Missouri. Paula Underwood was not a member of any Iroquois Nation or tribe; she was raised by her non-Native father in what she referred to as the “strong spirit path,” and said that he taught her “to revere and respect Iroquoian traditions.” She said that she and her father considered themselves a “Tribe of Two.” She claimed her paternal grandmother was Oneida. Her paternal grandmother was Sarah Mariah (Leonard) Underwood (1858–1939) born in Clarke County, Iowa.
Works
- Who speaks for wolf: a native American learning story as told to Turtle Woman Singing by her father, Sharp-eyed Hawk
- The Walking People: a Native American oral history, 1993
- Three strands in the braid: a guide for enablers of learning, 1993
- Winter white and summer gold: a Native American learning story, 1994
- Many circles, many paths: a Native American learning story, 1994
- Franklin listens when I speak: tellings of the friendship between Benjamin Franklin and Skenandoah, an Oneida chief, 1996
