About the Author

Clifton Bates was born in Seattle. After years of various types of work (construction, carpenter apprentice, warehouseman, doorman at a major hotel, school maintenance man, truck driver, school bus driver, guitar teacher, sign painter, etc.), he attended the University of Washington, achieving a B.A. in Art, a B.A. in English, a teaching and an administrative certificate, and a master’s degree in language arts education with an emphasis on cross-cultural education.

Since moving to Alaska in 1977, he has divided his time among Alaska, Kauai, and Thailand while spending thirty-five years working in Alaska Native education as a teacher, school district administrator, and university professor.

He wrote and produced with Alaska Public Television, KYUK, “Somebody’s Taking Pictures”, an historical documentary aired statewide and dedicated to the people of the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta.

His play, Witnesses, with Yup’ik characters on the Kuskokwim River was presented on stage at the Playwrights Showcase of the Western Region in Denver, Colorado.

With the Very Rev. Dr. Michael Oleksa, he co-authored Conflicting Landscapes, American Schooling/Alaska Natives. This text remains the definitive resource for educators working with Alaska Native students.

His book “Like Painted Kites & Collected Works” contains stories, poetry, drama, essays, and drawings (mostly concerning Asia and Alaska), all of which have been published in various venues in Alaska, the US, as well as England, France, Malaysia, and Germany.

Sky Changes On the Kuskokwim is his latest book; a novel about a Yup’ik man growing up on the Kuskokwim River in western Alaska.

He currently resides in Peters Creek, Alaska and is working on a collection of memoirs