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Gyasi Ross

Gyasi Ross

Author, Speaker, Lawyer and Storyteller

Gyasi Ross is first and foremost a father, an uncle, and a big brother. Professionally, he is an essayist and writer, poet, speaker and lawyer. ow to help my folks.”

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Bio

Full Bio

Gyasi Ross is first and foremost a father, an uncle, and a big brother.  Professionally, he is an essayist and writer, poet, speaker and lawyer. Through a life of service, listening and living within Native communities, Gyasi profoundly understands the needs of his people and has dedicated his life to forging change within his communities. Whether taking a more nuanced perspective on the Redskins controversy, encouraging self-worth in the community or defending the civil rights of those who can’t fight for themselves, part of Gyasi’s mission is raising the profile of the reservation populace, often viewed with ignorance as a shadowy world, as well as instilling a sense of pride amongst the people.

Ross, who has written for Huffington Post, Indian Country Today, Deadspin and Gawker, as well as appeared on various talk shows and news programs, confesses that although he wasn’t always the best student when he was younger, he was still a smart kid. “I was seen as very intelligent, but underachieving,” Ross recalls. “My family just didn’t have a history or legacy of educational attainment, so I wasn’t really concerned with trying to get good grades or what I was going to do after high school.” Yet, despite his early educational struggles (he attended six colleges, including two tribal colleges, before graduating from Columbia Law School), Gyasi continued in the family business of working within the community and telling his people’s stories.

Gyasi released his second book, How to Say I Love You in Indian, in early 2014.  “I come from a family of storytellers. My family tells long stories, drinking coffee and blowing smoke in your face. It just fit for me to tell stories, and then I started writing them. My standard for writing stories is, if I can’t explain it to my niece or nephew, or my grandpa who dropped out of school then I need to understand this topic better. People have a love affair with over-academicizing things.”

Working relentlessly, traveling constantly and always believing in his mission, Ross isn’t looking for praise or accolades, he just wants for things to be right with the complex world of the Indian nations.  “Gratification is internal and I’m comfortable with that,” Ross says, “I’m just trying to figure out how to help my folks.”

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Topics

Topics

Indian Education vs. Indigenous Education

Don’t Know Much About Indians? Contemporary Native America in Focus

Native Rules of Standing and Invisibility: Derrick Bell Revisited

Breakdances With Wolves: When Hip-Hop Came to Indian Country

Black History Month, Indian-Style: Natives and Black Folks in This Together Since 1492

Survival Art: Creating codes for survival

Trauma: Moving past describing the water

Videos

Videos

Gyasi Ross keynote NAIS People of Color Conference
Coming Together Speaker Series: Gyasi Ross

Books

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The American Psychological Association was thrilled to have Dr. Antonia Novello as our speaker for the 2024 APA Convention. Dr. Novello was fantastic, and her presentation was a tremendous success. Thank you, Peter, for all your hard work in making this event such a resounding success.

American Psychological Association

For our annual Native American Heritage Month celebration, PDA Group arranged for John Echohawk to join us for a virtual moderated discussion. The program was thoughtful, engaging, and highly impactful for our audience of lawyers and professional staff. We are grateful for their partnership and look forward to working with them again.

Debevoise & Plimpton LLP

We have partnered with PDA Group on multiple successful events, including our charity luncheon with Lisa Edelstein and our Women’s Philanthropy Kickoff Event featuring Allegra Goodman. Their professionalism, expertise, and commitment to excellence make them an outstanding partner. Thank you for your exceptional work and continued support.

UJA-Federation

We have received so much fantastic feedback following our virtual event. It was an absolute success, and Sylvia Fowles was excellent. Thank you again to Sylvia and the entire team for your partnership!”

U.S. Bank

Kurt Warner was spectacular—he completely wowed the audience and solidified major leadership points. He was an amazing partner, and we will be talking about this experience for years to come. We will definitely leverage the PDA team for all of our speaking needs!”

Sysco Corporation

The events over the past two years went very well — everyone had a great time with Dr. Mark Esper in 2025, and Sam Hinkie led a very engaging Q&A with our Principal, Jean Reynolds, in 2024. Thank you for working with us these last two years; your support has been instrumental to the success of our programs!

Investcorp Strategic Capital Group

It was an absolute privilege to have Dr. Sanjay Gupta as our keynote speaker for the 2026 GME Leadership Conference. He delivered an outstanding address that resonated deeply and left a lasting impression on everyone in the room. The entire planning process was seamless and collaborative. It was a pleasure working together, brainstorming suggestions, and ultimately selecting the perfect fit for our event. We couldn’t have asked for a better experience.

HCA Healthcare

We had a fantastic day with Inge! She was very engaging with all those that attended. Her personal stories about the holocaust were very special and we were moved that she was willing to share them with everyone. Thank you again, PDA for all your hard work and dedication to make this program such a success!

Salt Lake Community College

It was a great pleasure to work with PDA Group! The communication was always prompt, friendly and helpful. We loved the speakers and events we booked through Mr. Peter Walker (PDA Group).

Western Michigan University

On behalf of myself and my organization Entertainment Unlimited the Campus Programming Board of Ferris State University, we thank you PDA and Dan for a successful event!! Dan was magnificent! Students really enjoyed the presentation. I know I did. Can’t wait to bring in more programs with PDA Group.

Ferris State University

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