WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.140 align:middle line:90% 00:00:05.140 --> 00:00:07.070 align:middle line:90% Good evening. 00:00:07.070 --> 00:00:09.790 align:middle line:84% My name is Gina Stuart-Richard, and I'm a master's student 00:00:09.790 --> 00:00:11.410 align:middle line:84% here at the University of Arizona 00:00:11.410 --> 00:00:13.510 align:middle line:90% in American Indian studies. 00:00:13.510 --> 00:00:15.340 align:middle line:84% Before I introduce tonight's author, 00:00:15.340 --> 00:00:17.590 align:middle line:84% I would like to reflect just a moment on the craft 00:00:17.590 --> 00:00:19.300 align:middle line:90% of the storyteller. 00:00:19.300 --> 00:00:23.180 align:middle line:84% The job of a storyteller is much harder than it looks. 00:00:23.180 --> 00:00:26.710 align:middle line:84% The craft is in how to blend history, traditions, 00:00:26.710 --> 00:00:28.990 align:middle line:84% core values with a modern perspective, 00:00:28.990 --> 00:00:30.760 align:middle line:90% and ancient wisdom. 00:00:30.760 --> 00:00:32.409 align:middle line:84% In some ways, it could be considered 00:00:32.409 --> 00:00:35.620 align:middle line:84% the same as maybe building a bridge over the Grand Canyon, 00:00:35.620 --> 00:00:39.430 align:middle line:84% not knowing how the message will be received on the other side. 00:00:39.430 --> 00:00:40.870 align:middle line:84% But once in a while, a storyteller 00:00:40.870 --> 00:00:44.140 align:middle line:84% comes into our midst who is able to do all of these things 00:00:44.140 --> 00:00:46.870 align:middle line:90% in a way that few can. 00:00:46.870 --> 00:00:48.610 align:middle line:84% In fact, the old adage is that those 00:00:48.610 --> 00:00:50.530 align:middle line:84% who are true masters of their craft 00:00:50.530 --> 00:00:53.200 align:middle line:84% are the ones who make it look easy. 00:00:53.200 --> 00:00:55.600 align:middle line:84% Tonight's author is one of those masters. 00:00:55.600 --> 00:00:58.330 align:middle line:84% Growing up on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, 00:00:58.330 --> 00:01:01.660 align:middle line:84% she earned her PhD at the University of New Mexico. 00:01:01.660 --> 00:01:04.120 align:middle line:84% After working as a visiting professor at the University 00:01:04.120 --> 00:01:06.610 align:middle line:84% of Nebraska, she's now an associate professor 00:01:06.610 --> 00:01:08.470 align:middle line:84% in the American Indian Studies program, 00:01:08.470 --> 00:01:11.710 align:middle line:84% as well as the Department of English, 00:01:11.710 --> 00:01:14.320 align:middle line:84% here at the University of Arizona. 00:01:14.320 --> 00:01:16.060 align:middle line:84% Her very first novel, Elsie's Business, 00:01:16.060 --> 00:01:19.270 align:middle line:84% was published in 2006, and was the second-place winner 00:01:19.270 --> 00:01:22.660 align:middle line:84% in the first novel category ever awarded by the Western Writers 00:01:22.660 --> 00:01:26.440 align:middle line:84% Of America, and was called "An outstanding, original, engaging 00:01:26.440 --> 00:01:29.170 align:middle line:84% narrative of a native community and survivance" 00:01:29.170 --> 00:01:30.460 align:middle line:90% by Gerald Vizenor. 00:01:30.460 --> 00:01:33.220 align:middle line:84% And it's now required reading for literature classes 00:01:33.220 --> 00:01:36.140 align:middle line:84% at universities across the country. 00:01:36.140 --> 00:01:37.930 align:middle line:84% Her second novel, The Sacred White Turkey, 00:01:37.930 --> 00:01:39.760 align:middle line:84% was published last year and has already 00:01:39.760 --> 00:01:42.490 align:middle line:84% been described as a tour de force of storytelling 00:01:42.490 --> 00:01:43.990 align:middle line:90% by critics. 00:01:43.990 --> 00:01:46.060 align:middle line:84% With a third novel scheduled for publication 00:01:46.060 --> 00:01:48.070 align:middle line:84% by the end of the year, and while authoring 00:01:48.070 --> 00:01:51.250 align:middle line:84% a biography of Louise Erdrich scheduled for the year after, 00:01:51.250 --> 00:01:54.610 align:middle line:84% she's managed to squeeze in several academic articles 00:01:54.610 --> 00:01:57.400 align:middle line:84% in peer-reviewed journals, written the foreword 00:01:57.400 --> 00:01:59.980 align:middle line:84% for yet another book, and has graciously, somehow, 00:01:59.980 --> 00:02:02.350 align:middle line:84% found the time to be with us tonight. 00:02:02.350 --> 00:02:03.850 align:middle line:84% Ladies and gentlemen, please join me 00:02:03.850 --> 00:02:07.510 align:middle line:84% in welcoming poet, novelist, author, and storyteller Frances 00:02:07.510 --> 00:02:08.110 align:middle line:90% Washburn. 00:02:08.110 --> 00:02:11.460 align:middle line:90% [APPLAUSE] 00:02:11.460 --> 00:02:16.000 align:middle line:90%