Stanford
Native American Cultural Center
Shoney Hixson Blake

Shoney Hixson Blake

2021 NACC Alumni Hall of Fame Inductee

October 22, 2021

From her undergraduate days as an engaged Native Community leader and standout Women’s Softball player, Shoney distinguished herself as a builder of networks.  Her academic distinction in International Relations led her to the University of Chicago Law School and the launch of a successful private law practice as a patent litigation associate.

Shoney’s passion for Stanford soon beckoned.  She and fellow alumnus Ray Blake married and returned to campus as Resident Fellows at Muwekma-Tah-Ruk, the Native Theme House, in 2014 and raised a family while Ray also served as Associate Head Wrestling Coach.  They created an affirming Indigenous home--indeed family--for Native and Non-Native students, hosting impactful programs and classes, developing student staff, and mentoring students on wellness, service, and creative expression.

What truly distinguishes Shoney are the unparalleled contributions to uplifting Indigenous alumni individually and collectively--­and telling the fifty-year story of Stanford’s diverse Native community, including the creation of the Stanford Indigenous Alumni Facebook Group.  Starting by inviting alumni to share their own careers and academic paths with students, to hosting annual gatherings at Stanford Reunion, her leadership was especially impactful at landmark moments when her media savvy was showcased, as in the “Building Tah-Ruk” video she created for Muwekma’s 30th Anniversary in 2018.  Welcoming her peers into the circle, she increased local participation in alumni groups SNAAA and the reimagined SIAA that followed.  She displayed historical materials at Muwekma to represent all frosh, residents, staff and families that had come before--and then campaigned successfully to update and diversify the Indigenous artwork exhibited on the House walls.

The crowning glory of Shoney’s accomplishments was the genius behind the “50 for 50” Native Stanford Alumni spotlight series where she interviewed 50 Indigenous alumni over 50 weeks in celebration of the 50thAnniversaries of the Stanford American Indian Organization and Stanford Powwow in 2020-21.  This brilliant series captured Indigenous excellence, diversity, and service at Stanford and beyond over a half-century resulting in a masterpiece of intergenerational faces and voices. Concurrently, Shoney chaired the 50thAnniversary Alumni Steering Committee, building ever stronger networks among fellow alumni, paving the way for the next fifty years of excellence.

Shoney never lost sight of her dedication to Indian Law especially concerning major cases before the U.S. Supreme Court or issues that impacted Native communities deeply such as Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women.  The draw of law practice and her Choctaw and Cherokee homelands shifted her sights again, and in 2021, she joined Pipestem Law as an associate in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

2021 Alumni Hall of Fame Inductions, Stanford Reunion

Shoney Hixson Blake '06, Joaquin Castro '96, Julián Castro '96, Hilda Hutcherson '76, Linda Youa Lee '07

Additional Events Occurring October 22-23