Joan M. Tenenbaum facts for kids

Joan M. Tenenbaum is an American expert in languages, cultures, and art. She is known for her amazing jewelry and for helping to save the Dena’ina language. Her jewelry often tells stories about the native people and beautiful landscapes of Alaska.

Life and Early Influences

Becoming a Linguist and Anthropologist

Joan Tenenbaum found her love for making jewelry when she was 13 years old. She went to the University of Michigan to study languages like French and Spanish, and also Anthropology. Anthropology is the study of human societies and cultures.

Later, she went to Columbia University for her Ph.D. in Anthropology and Linguistics. Linguistics is the scientific study of language. For her research, she lived for two years in Nondalton, a small village in rural Alaska. There, she worked to record and understand the Dena’ina language.

The Dena'ina language is spoken by some of the native people of Alaska. It is an endangered language, meaning fewer and fewer people speak it. Joan wrote a detailed book about the Dena'ina verb. She also started a dictionary for the language.

She also translated 24 stories she had recorded in Nondalton. These stories became her book, Dena’ina Sukdu’a: Traditional Stories of the Tanaina Athabaskans. This book was first published in 1976. Both her language research and the story collection are still highly respected by language experts today.

Teaching and Art in Alaska

After finishing her Ph.D., Tenenbaum lived with Yup’ik and Iñupiat peoples in other Alaskan villages. She taught and helped run programs for the University of Alaska. During all these years, she kept making jewelry. She never gave up her dream of becoming a full-time artist.

A Full-Time Artist

In 1982, Joan Tenenbaum decided to focus completely on her jewelry making. She studied with a teacher and took many classes. She challenged herself to learn even the most difficult techniques. Over time, her experiences living with and being welcomed by Alaskan village communities began to show in her jewelry.

She has continued to visit the people she lived with in Alaska. Her art now combines her knowledge as an anthropologist with her love for making jewelry.

Storytelling Through Jewelry

Over the years, Joan's understanding of Alaskan cultures and landscapes grew deeper. Her skills in working with precious metals also expanded. Because of this, her jewelry became more complex and meaningful. It tells stories about our connection to the Earth.

She makes her jewelry by hand using precious metals and gemstones. She uses techniques like cloisonné enameling, metalsmithing, and goldsmithing. Her pieces tell stories and create pictures of the people she lived with. They show how we interact with our environment. They also show places of incredible beauty. These jewelry pieces are like tiny, wearable landscapes. They carry messages about culture and the environment.