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Even As We Breathe: In Conversation with a Native Storyteller

All Yale alumni, students and friends are cordially invited to join us for this inclusive livestream gathering and interactive conversation with Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle ’03, the first enrolled member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians to publish a novel—Even As We Breathe, which explores themes of identity, place, family and belonging under the backdrop of WWII.

This event will be held online--a Zoom link and dial-in instructions will be provided to registered attendees.

Annette will discuss her evolution and journey as a writer, the impact Yale had on her life, how her community is coping with the coronavirus pandemic, and more. The former executive director of the Cherokee Preservation Foundation, Annette is currently an English teacher at Swain County High School, near where she was born and raised in western North Carolina.

Moderating the conversation is Ashley Hemmers ’07, chief administrative officer of the Fort Mojave Indian Tribe and chair of Native American Yale Alumni (NAYA), a shared identity/interest group dedicated to strengthening the Yale Native Community through a legacy of leadership, commitment and service.

This event is brought to you by Native American Yale Alumni and the Yale Alumni Association Shared Interest Groups.

Speaker Bio

Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle, an enrolled member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) resides in Qualla, NC. She holds degrees from Yale University and the College of William and Mary. Her debut novel, Even As We Breathe, was released by the University Press of Kentucky in September of 2020. Her first novel manuscript, Going to Water is winner of the Morning Star Award for Creative Writing from the Native American Literature Symposium (2012) and a finalist for the PEN/Bellwether Prize for Socially Engaged Fiction (2014). Clapsaddle’s work has appeared in Yes! Magazine, Lit Hub, Smoky Mountain Living Magazine, South Writ Large and The Atlantic. After serving as executive director of the Cherokee Preservation Foundation, Annette returned to teaching English and Cherokee Studies at Swain County High School. She is the former co-editor of the Journal of Cherokee Studies and serves on the board of trustees for the North Carolina Writers Network.

Moderator Bio

An enrolled member and the Administrating Officer of the Fort Mojave Indian Tribe, a Federally Recognized Indian Tribe, whose reservation spans the states of California, Arizona, & Nevada, Ashley Hemmers is a strategic specialist in multi-state cross-jurisdictional development & management of Tribal Governance.

She holds experience in Tribal Enterprising including the development & implementation of fiscal & capital wealth strategies that expand public services to her Tribal Nation. During her time within Tribal Government she has worked to strengthen Tribal/Federal & Tribal/State partnerships by developing strategic models of performance for service areas within the Tri-State area of California, Arizona, & Nevada.

A gaming industry insider, she has held a Title III Nevada Gaming License by the Nevada Gaming Control Board. She currently serves as the chair of the Native American Yale Alumni shared identity/interest group, and is a proud recipient of the Henry Roe Cloud Alumni Achievement Award from the Association of Native Americans at Yale and an Alumni Leadership Award for service by the Yale Alumni Association.

Ashley graduated with her B.A. from Yale University, a member of Davenport College – Go D’Port! She has a Graduate Certificate in Non-Profit Management & Masters of Public Administration from the University of Nevada Las Vegas.

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