Dr. Paula Gunn Allen, renowned author and scholar of Laguna Pueblo/Metis descent, lost her home and virtually all of her possessions in a fire in Fort Bragg, California this October. She barely escaped herself, requiring weeks of hospitalization.

This is an appeal for your help. We are trying to raise $20,000 and we ask you to meet her need with a monetary gift to help her re-establish a home. Please pass the word.

Paula's insurance will only cover so much. The insurance on her trailer and household possessions will pay two-thirds or less of what she can demonstrate she's lost. On her personal property, her insurance will pay $17,500 if she can demonstrate she's lost $26,000. To raze the burnt-out trailer will cost at least $14,000, of which the insurance will cover only $2,000. She's got few records of what stuff cost.

Paula is truly one of the founders of Native American Studies and her work in Literature and in Women's Studies will influence generations to come. Books like The Sacred Hoop, Grandmothers of the Light, and Pocahontas (a 2003 Pulitzer Prize nominee) give new visions; her poetry and fiction are equally powerful. She's an elder who brings us wisdom and laughter. She has given us much; this time of need is an opportunity to give back to her. Please help.