DeLesslin “Roo” George-Warren
DeLesslin “Roo” George-Warren is a queer artist, researcher, and organizer from the Catawba Indian Nation whose work ranges from performance to installation art to community education to food sovereignty to language revitalization.
Since 2017, he has been the Special Projects Coordinator for the Catawba Cultural Preservation Project, where he facilitates the Catawba Language Project, several food sovereignty initiatives, and other community education projects. The “strands” of their practice come together in yękαpįsαwačαre, “which implies both making art and helping someone else develop skills.”
DeLesslin’s longest ongoing project has been his Indigenous Corps of Discovery tours, which present unsettling tours of collections and museums, bringing to the forefront stories of Indigenous peoples, colonization, and survivance.
Alongside offering performances, lectures, and exhibits throughout the U.S., Roo has received multiple recognitions including “40 Under 40” by the National Council on American Indian Enterprise Development, a “25 Under 25” by United National Inter Tribal Youth, and selection as a Dreamstarter by Running Strong for American Indian Youth.
Commentaries, Interviews, and Lectures
- Eyebeam with DeLesslin “Roo” George-Warren
- Love in Preservation: Get to Know DeLesslin “Roo” George-Warren
- On Teaching Native American History Through the Smithsonian’s Presidential Portraits
- Food, Language, and Land-Based Education in the Catawba Nation
- In the Spirit: DeLesslin George-Warren "Manu"
- Seed Keepers: Season 1, Episode 12, Queer Worlds
Readings
- Catawba Nation
- Bauer, Brooke M. Becoming Catawba: Catawba Indian Women and Nation-Building, 1540–1840. University of Alabama Press, 2022.
- MPD 150: A People’s Project Evaluating Policing
- Chua, Charmaine. "Abolition is a constant struggle: Five lessons from Minneapolis." Theory & Event 23.5 (2020): S-127. https://muse.jhu.edu/article/775394
- Kaba, Mariame, and Andrea J. Ritchie. No More Police: A Case for Abolition. The New Press, 2022.
Quote
“In Catawba we don’t have a word for ‘artist’ that is separate from other responsibilities, like teaching, so I’ve always seen my work as an artist as a means to cultivating consciousness, resilient communities, and a more beautiful future.”
— (Eyebeam)
