STORYTELLING SPOTLIGHT: STELLA LONG

Stella Long, Choctaw Storyteller http://www.nativestoryteller.com/
Stella Long is an honored elder of the Choctaw Tribe. She tells stories of her culture and experiences and of growing up in the old way. Many of her stories come from memories when she lived in an orphanage as a young girl and as a tuberculosis patient living in a sanatorium during her teen years. Stella creates animal stories in her own unique way. She goes out to the woods and sits for hours observing animal behavior. Stella often talks and sings to them in Choctaw. She belongs to the Wolf Clan. Recently she performed at the National Museum of the American Indian at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. and is requested to return later this year. She has performed at many places. In 2002, the Word Craft Circle of Native American Writers and Storytellers honored Stella with the Contemporary Storyteller of the Year Award