Gayle Ross

Gayle Ross is a descendent of John Ross, principal chief of the Cherokee Nation during and after the infamous “Trail of Tears,” the forced removal of many Southeastern Indians to Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma) in the late 1830s. Her grandmother told stories and it is from this rich heritage that Gayle’s storytelling springs. During the past twenty years, she has become one of the most respected storytellers to emerge from the current surge of interest in this timeless art form. Gayle has appeared at most major storytelling and folk festivals in the United States and Canada, and in concert halls and theaters throughout the US and Europe, often appearing with some of today’s finest Native American musicians and dancers. She is in demand as a lecturer and visiting artist at college campuses and she continues to mesmerize children at schools and libraries across the country.

Gayle Ross is a descendent of John Ross, principal chief of the Cherokee Nation during and after the infamous “Trail of Tears,” the forced removal of many Southeastern Indians to Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma) in the late 1830s. Her grandmother told stories and it is from this rich heritage that Gayle’s storytelling springs. During the past twenty years, she has become one of the most respected storytellers to emerge from the current surge of interest in this timeless art form.

Gayle has appeared at most major storytelling and folk festivals in the United States and Canada, and in concert halls and theaters throughout the US and Europe, often appearing with some of today’s finest Native American musicians and dancers. She is in demand as a lecturer and visiting artist at college campuses and she continues to mesmerize children at schools and libraries across the country. The National Council for the Traditional Arts has included Gayle in two of their touring shows, “Master Storytellers” and the all-Indian show, “From the Plains to the Pueblos.” She was invited by Vice President Al Gore to perform at a gala at his residence entitled “A Taste of Tennessee” and was the only Native American speaker chosen by the White House to appear in the “Millennium on the Mall” celebration in Washington, DC. Gayle, who has published several of her stories in illustrated books, has spoken at meetings of the American Library Association, the International Reading Association, and the International Board of Books for Young People. She was a commentator in the Discovery Channel’s award-winning documentary, “How the West Was Lost,” and her stories have been featured on the National Public Radio programs “Living on the Earth” and “Mountain Stage.”

Gerald Barnes was born in Pleasant Point, Perry, Maine and now lives in Virginia. As a child he learned traditional Passamaquoddy basket weaving from his mother and father. To make his work unique, he developed the turtle as his personal symbol. For Barnes the turtle represents longevity and sustenance but, more importantly, these slightly imperfect turtles represent the adverse effects of pollution on the environment.

RESOURCES
Books by Gayle Ross
How Rabbit Tricked Otter and other Cherokee Trickster Stories.
New York: HarperCollins, 1994.
How the Turtle’s Back Was Cracked: A Traditional Cherokee Tale.
New York: Dial Books for Young Readers, 1995.
The Legend of Windigo: A Tale from Native North America.
Dial Books for Young Readers, 1996.

Anthologies including stories by Gayle Ross
Bruchac, Joseph. The Girl Who Married the Moon.
Mahwah, N.J.: Troll Communications, 1994.
The Story of the Milky Way: A Cherokee Tale.
New York: Dial Books for Young Readers, 1995.

Established in 1989 through an Act of Congress, the National Museum of the American Indian is an institution of living cultures dedicated to the life, languages, literature, history, and arts of the Native peoples of the Western Hemisphere. The museum includes the George Gustav Heye Center, a permanent exhibition and education facility in New York City, and the Cultural Resources Center, a research and collection facility in Suitland, Maryland. A new museum on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., is now under construction and will open in September 2004.

For additional information on the National Museum of the American Indian visit the museum's Website at www.AmericanIndian.si.edu.

Additional Resources

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3/5/03: Gayle Ross

Author of five critically acclaimed children books, Native American storyteller Gayle Ross provokes laughter and moves audiences to tears with her age-old craft.

Presented in cooperation with the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of the American Indian.

Gayle Ross

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