My guest, Chairman Greg Sarris generously and joyfully shares with us his intimate moments of being vulnerable, exploring his coastal Miwok heritage, being connected to the land and its powerful spaces, understanding sacrifice and sharing, contemplating a woman who was a human bear and honoring his teachers, American Indian Doctors and Wisdom Keepers Mabel McKay and Essie Parish, and the winding path to becoming a tribal leader.
We also ‘talk-story’ about Greg’s enduring stories in his books: Mabel McKay, Weaving The Dream and his memoir Becoming Story, A Journey Among Places, Trees and Ancestors.
When asked about the path to his role of becoming a leader and practicing empathy Greg explained that “The best way I could thank Mabel and Essie for what they’ve done and what they stood for is in fact by giving up and by sacrificing for others… and what Mabel said to me about my own pain is, if I acknowledged it and held it, it could be a lens through which I could understand the pain of other people and be able to do something for other people.”
We were both honored and humbled by this fun and insightful interview with Chairman Greg Sarris.
Learn More About Greg Sarris and his creative work: https://greg-sarris.com
YouTube Series & Podcast: Place and Purpose with Greg Sarris and Obie Kaufman
https://www.youtube.com/@placeandpurposelive
Greg Sarris received his Ph.D. in Modern Thought and Literature from Stanford University, where he was awarded the Walter Gore Award for excellence in teaching.
He has published several books, including the widely anthologized collection of essays, Keeping Slug Woman Alive: A Holistic Approach to American Indian Texts, and Grand Avenue, an award-winning collection of short stories, which he adapted for an HBO miniseries of the same name and co-executive produced with Robert Redford.
He is serving his sixteenth consecutive term as Chairman of his tribe, the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria, formerly known as the Federated Coast Miwok, and he co-authored a bill on behalf of the tribe, H.R. 5528. On December 27, 2000, President Clinton signed this bill restoring the Federated Coast Miwok as a recognized American Indian tribe, making the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria the last tribe in the United States to be restored by an Act of Congress.
On October 1, 2010, Greg successfully regained a reservation for his people after the Tribe had been homeless for over 50 years. In July 2013, he raised money to build a resort and casino for his tribe, and today, the casino resort is among the 5 most successful Indian casinos in the nation. In addition to serving as Chairman of his Tribe, he serves as President of the Tribe’s Economic Development Board, overseeing all of the Tribe’s business interests, including the Graton Resort and Casino.
His book Becoming Story: A Journey among Seasons, Places, Trees, and Ancestors was released in April 2022. He is the executive producer of I Am A Noise, a documentary film about Joan Baez, he has been appointed to the Board of Trustees for the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, and elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
#wisdomkeepers #wisdomkeepersofearth #trees #ancestors #GregSarris #author
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