Gyasi Ross
Born
United States
NationalityAmerican
Alma materColumbia Law School
Occupation(s)Speaker, storyteller, author, commentator, attorney, rapper
Websitewww.gyasi-ross.com
External videos
video icon "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

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

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 has declared his support for Bernie Sanders in the 2016 Democratic presidential primary elections.[12]

Works

  • 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

  1. ↑ "Gyasi Ross". Cut Bank Creek Press Native American Indian books fiction Idle No More Gyasi Ross Winona LaDuke literature.
  2. ↑ "Telling the small tales". Reznetnews.org. Archived from the original on 2011-12-29.
  3. ↑ "Gyasi Ross". The Huffington Post.
  4. 1 2 Ross, Gyasi (May 19, 2014). "Leaving the Reservation: Modern Day Assimilation". The Huffington Post.
  5. ↑ I Love Ancestry. "Gyasi Ross, An Inspiring Writer, Attorney, Activist".
  6. ↑ Suquamish Tribe (28 September 2015). "Suquamish News, October 2015".
  7. ↑ "The False Binary of the 'Redskins' Controversy". The Huffington Post. October 30, 2013.
  8. ↑ Ross, Gyasi (2013-10-16). ""Redskins": A Native's Guide To Debating An Inglorious Word". Deadspin. Retrieved 2014-11-10.
  9. ↑ Zangba Thomson. "Gyasi Ross set to release 'Before Here Was Here'". AXS.
  10. ↑ "Gyasi Ross Schools Mackelmore: White Privilege, White Guilt, and the Role of White Allies". Indian Country Today Media Network.com. 6 February 2016.
  11. ↑ "Ross, Gyasi - SpeakOut".
  12. ↑ "Gyasi Ross: Why I Support Bernie Sanders & the #BlackLivesMatter Protesters Who Interrupted Him - Democracy Now!". Democracy Now!.
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