Mary TallMountain
Mary TallMountain, born Mary Demoski, was an influential American poet and writer of mixed Athabascan and Russian descent, hailing from Nulato, Alaska. Orphaned at a young age due to her mother's illness, she was adopted by a white couple, which led to a tumultuous upbringing marked by cultural dislocation and personal trauma. Despite her challenges, including discrimination and abuse, TallMountain developed a passion for literature early on, with her first story published at the age of ten. Her experiences informed her later work, which she began to pursue seriously in her fifties after a pivotal mentorship with Native American scholar Paula Gunn Allen.
Throughout her career, TallMountain produced poetry and short stories that reflect her Alaskan roots and complex identity, resonating with many readers, even if her work did not achieve the widespread recognition of some contemporaries. She continued to write and publish until her passing in 1994, leaving behind a legacy of lyrical work that captures the struggles and richness of her heritage. TallMountain’s journey emphasizes themes of resilience, identity, and the deep connection to one’s cultural roots, making her contributions significant in the context of Native American literature.
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Subject Terms
Mary TallMountain
Writer
- Born: June 19, 1918
- Birthplace: Nulato, Alaskan Territory (now Alaska)
- Died: September 2, 1994
Biography
Mary Demoski (Mary TallMountain) was born to Mary Joe Demoski, a woman of mixed Athabascan and Russian heritage, in a small Koyukon village called Nulato, located in Alaska just below the Arctic Circle and west of Fairbanks. Her father, Clem Stroupe, was an American soldier with the U.S. Army who was stationed at Nulato.
Like many Athabascan Indians, TallMountain’s mother contracted tuberculosis at an early age. As she grew weaker, knowing that she would not live, she decided that her two children, would fare better if they were adopted by the Randles, a white couple consisting of a government doctor and his wife. At this time, TallMountain was only six and her brother Billy was four. Because she was a girl, the village council decided to send Mary “outside” but to keep Billy, the more “valuable” boy, in the village. He later died of tuberculosis, which might not have happened had he been fostered out.
TallMountain was tutored by her adoptive mother Agnes Randle, who introduced her to the classics of British literature. As a result, TallMountain began to read and write at the age of four. TallMountain had her first story published in Child Life when she was ten, and in her early teens, she began work on a novel.
Since TallMountain’s adoptive father had spent all his savings on a chicken farm that went bankrupt in the Great Depression, the family was forced to perform migrant farm labor to survive. They traveled to Portland, Oregon, where TallMountain was ridiculed by the white schoolchildren for her race. Further alienating her from her heritage, the Randles had forbidden her to speak her native tongue. Contributing to her misery, Dr. Randle repeatedly molested her.
Next the Randles moved to the Aleutians in Alaska, a place where TallMountain would not be tormented for being Indian, and they lived there until she was fourteen. TallMountain’s adoptive father died of heart failure just after she graduated from high school, and her husband, Dal Roberts, whom she married when she was nineteen, died just three years after their marriage. TallMountain’s adoptive mother, Mrs. Randle, who was dying of Parkinson’s disease and diabetes, committed suicide in 1945. Alone, TallMountain left Portland for Reno, where she learned to be a legal secretary, a career she pursued for many years.
TallMountain did not become a poet until she was in her fifties, after meeting Native American scholar and poet Paula Gunn Allen. TallMountain met with Allen weekly for over a year, and as a result, she produced a body of lyrical work that explored her early years in her Alaskan village. When TallMountain died in September, 1994, at the age of seventy-six, she had been seriously writing and publishing for a little more than twenty-five years. Although her work never garnered the attention given to some Native American Renaissance women writers, her poetry and short stories have attracted a large and loyal following.