Clyde Hall

Clyde Hall is an internationally recognized and acknowledged authority of Native American culture, dance ritual and folkways. Clyde was born and raised in Fort Hall, Idaho and is a Native American of Shoshone/Metis descent.

During the 1970s and 1980s he was an early-day Native American activist and member of Gay American Indians (GAI) in San Francisco, California--the first Native American group of its kind. He was one of the founders of the contemporary "Two Spirit Movement" of Native American LGBT people. In 1987 he was honored as the first speaker on the Ellipse during the Second National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights.  OUT Magazine named Hall one of the OUT 100 in 1999 and, in the year 2000, as one of he 1,000 most influential gay individuals in the U.S. in the 20th century.

In the past, as a career, he served as a park ranger/naturalist in Grand Teton National Park and as a high school teacher and public defender. He served as a Tribal Magistrate Judge (for 19 years) and worked extensively with developing substance abuse programming for the tribe and rewriting the Law and Order Code for the tribe. He specialized in probates during his tenure. He was in private practice as an attorney until 2007.

Hall toured Europe, South America and the U.S. with his dance troupe in the 1970's-1990's as well as speaking engagements and lectures at major universities in the U.S. on Native American traditions and culture. His expertise is in demand at museums and universities on matters of Native culture including the University of Illinois, Idaho State University, the Denver Museum of Natural History and the David T. Vernon Museum of Indian Art. 

He currently serves as the Executive Director of the Naraya Cultural Preservation Council, (NCPC), a 501(c)3 non-profit that is devoted to the preservation of Great Basin/Plateau Tribal cultures, language and sacred sites.

Clyde Hall is a writer and lecturer whose work has appeared in numerous books including Gay Soul, Living the Spirit, Two Spirit People, and international publications including the German GEO, Der Grüne Zweig and in the U.S. in White Crane Journal among others. He has served as a consultant for many authors and filmmakers including Tom Spanbauer, Will Roscoe, Win Blevins and Kirby Jonas and is a technical advisor on Native American culture for numerous movies and TV programs. 

(This biographical statement provided by Clyde Hall and Bo Young.)

Biography Date: June, 2004

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