Native American Author, Activist, Musician and Lawyer Gyasi Ross coming to WWU Feb. 20 and 21

Native American author, activist, musician and lawyer Gyasi Ross is coming to Western Washington University to present a trio of workshops and discussions focusing on empowerment, social justice and the strength of community on Feb. 20 and 21; all sessions are free and open to the public.

All events take place on the WWU Performing Arts Center Mainstage, and are sponsored by the WWU Campus Equity and Inclusion Forums.

From 2:30-4 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 20, Ross will present “Activism and Empowerment,” a workshop for local students.

From 10-11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 21, Ross will present “Support & Social Justice,” a discussion for Western’s faculty, staff, and interested community members.

From 3-4:30 on Feb. 21, Ross will conclude his workshops with a final presentation for local students titled “Community & Liberation.”

Ross is a member of the Blackfeet Nation and resides on the Port Madison Indian Reservation near Seattle. He is the author of “Don’t Know Much About Indians (but I wrote a book about us anyways)” and “How to Say I Love You in Indian.” Ross is a frequent contributor to MSNBC, ESPN, Democracy Now, Deadspin, and the Huffington Post, and is an in-demand speaker on race, social justice and white privilege as well as issues specifically affecting contemporary Native Americans. Ross has also released a spoken word/hip hop CD titled “Isskootsik (Before Here was Here)” on Cabin Games Records.

For more information on Ross’ visit to WWU, contact Cynthia Meeks at Cynthia.meeks@wwu.edu.