Gyasi Ross
Gyasi Ross | |
|---|---|
| Born | |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | Columbia Law School |
| Occupation(s) | Speaker, storyteller, author, commentator, attorney, rapper |
| Website | www |
| External videos | |
|---|---|
 "Stop Making Native People “Political Fodder”" on DemocracyNow!, October 18, 2018 |
Gyasi Ross is a Blackfeet author, attorney, rapper, speaker and storyteller.[1] He is the author of two books Don't Know Much About Indians (but I wrote a book about us anyways) (2011)[2] and How to Say I Love You in Indian (2014) and he is a regular writer for The Huffington Post,[3] Gawker and Indian Country Today.
Life
[edit]Ross' family is Blackfeet and Suquamish. He attended six institutions of higher education (two universities, two community colleges, and two tribal colleges) before receiving his undergraduate degree.[4] Ross then graduated from Columbia Law School.[4][5]
He lives on the Port Madison Indian Reservation near Seattle. He is married to Miranda Belarde-Lewis, a professor at the University of Washington, and has two children.[6]
Issues
[edit]He has spoken out on Native American issues such as the Washington Redskins name controversy. In answer to the argument that Native Americans ought to focus on social issues larger than a team name, Ross stated that "Native people shouldn't be forced to choose between living or racial discrimination. Those are false binaries."[7][8]
In 2015, Ross released his first spoken word album titled Isskootsik, or Before Here Was Here, on iTunes.[9] Ross has prominently criticized another Seattle singer, Macklemore for his song "White Privilege II", which he considers itself to be an example of White privilege, as Macklemore a White singer takes the stage to speak on behalf of minorities, instead of giving them a chance to voice their own concerns. In response Ross published a song titled "White Privilege 3".[10][11] He declared his support for Bernie Sanders in the 2016 Democratic presidential primary elections.[12]
Works
[edit]- Don't Know Much About Indians (but I wrote a book about us anyways), DKMAI, 2011, ISBN 9780983811800
- How to Say I Love You in Indian, Cut Bank Creek Press, 2013, ISBN 9780983811817
References
[edit]- ^ "Gyasi Ross". Cut Bank Creek Press Native American Indian books fiction Idle No More Gyasi Ross Winona LaDuke literature.
- ^ "Telling the small tales". Reznetnews.org. Archived from the original on 2011-12-29.
- ^ "Gyasi Ross". The Huffington Post.
- ^ a b Ross, Gyasi (May 19, 2014). "Leaving the Reservation: Modern Day Assimilation". The Huffington Post.
- ^ I Love Ancestry. "Gyasi Ross, An Inspiring Writer, Attorney, Activist".
- ^ Suquamish Tribe (28 September 2015). "Suquamish News, October 2015".
- ^ "The False Binary of the 'Redskins' Controversy". The Huffington Post. October 30, 2013.
- ^ Ross, Gyasi (2013-10-16). ""Redskins": A Native's Guide To Debating An Inglorious Word". Deadspin. Retrieved 2014-11-10.
- ^ Zangba Thomson. "Gyasi Ross set to release 'Before Here Was Here'". AXS.
- ^ "Gyasi Ross Schools Mackelmore: White Privilege, White Guilt, and the Role of White Allies". Indian Country Today Media Network.com. 6 February 2016.
- ^ "Ross, Gyasi - SpeakOut".
- ^ "Gyasi Ross: Why I Support Bernie Sanders & the #BlackLivesMatter Protesters Who Interrupted Him - Democracy Now!". Democracy Now!.