WEBVTT

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Good evening.

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My name is Gina Stuart-Richard,
and I'm a master's student

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here at the
University of Arizona

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in American Indian studies.

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Before I introduce
tonight's author,

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I would like to reflect
just a moment on the craft

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of the storyteller.

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The job of a storyteller is
much harder than it looks.

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The craft is in how to
blend history, traditions,

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core values with a
modern perspective,

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and ancient wisdom.

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In some ways, it
could be considered

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the same as maybe building a
bridge over the Grand Canyon,

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not knowing how the message will
be received on the other side.

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But once in a
while, a storyteller

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comes into our midst who is
able to do all of these things

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in a way that few can.

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In fact, the old
adage is that those

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who are true masters
of their craft

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are the ones who
make it look easy.

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Tonight's author is
one of those masters.

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Growing up on the Pine Ridge
Reservation in South Dakota,

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she earned her PhD at the
University of New Mexico.

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After working as a visiting
professor at the University

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of Nebraska, she's now
an associate professor

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in the American Indian
Studies program,

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as well as the
Department of English,

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here at the
University of Arizona.

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Her very first novel,
Elsie's Business,

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was published in 2006, and
was the second-place winner

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in the first novel category ever
awarded by the Western Writers

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Of America, and was called "An
outstanding, original, engaging

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narrative of a native
community and survivance"

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by Gerald Vizenor.

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And it's now required reading
for literature classes

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at universities
across the country.

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Her second novel, The
Sacred White Turkey,

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was published last
year and has already

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been described as a tour
de force of storytelling

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by critics.

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With a third novel
scheduled for publication

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by the end of the year,
and while authoring

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a biography of Louise Erdrich
scheduled for the year after,

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she's managed to squeeze in
several academic articles

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in peer-reviewed journals,
written the foreword

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for yet another book, and
has graciously, somehow,

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found the time to
be with us tonight.

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Ladies and gentlemen,
please join me

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in welcoming poet, novelist,
author, and storyteller Frances

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Washburn.

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[APPLAUSE]

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