A Conversation with Gordon Lee Johnson and Terria Smith
November 4, 2021 | 7:00 pm
A Native American Heritage Month Event, this conversation brings together Gordon Lee Johnson (Cahuilla/Cupeño), author of Bird Songs Don’t. Lie: Writings from the Rez and Terria Smith (Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla), Director of the Berkeley Roundhouse at Heyday.
Rich in culture, history, and heritage, Johnson and Smith will discuss their own paths to writing, what they’re working on now, their work together as author and editor, and more. Johnnson’s book, Bird Songs Don’t Lie, will be available for purchase at the event.
This event is presented by Inlandia as a part of Riverside Public Library’s First Thursdays Arts Walk events series with support from the Riverside Public Library, Friends of the Library, the California Arts Council, and California Humanities.
Join the conversation at the Riverside Main Library’s Community Room on 3900 Mission Inn Avenue in Riverside, California. Masks required. More details on Inlandia Institute’s website.
About the Speakers
Terria Smith
Terria Smith is a tribal member of the Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians and a proud original Californian. She is the editor of News from Native California magazine and director of the Berkeley Roundhouse, Heyday's California Indian publishing program. Smith is also the editor of the 2023 anthology Know We Are Here: Voices of Native California Resistance. She received her undergraduate degree at Cal Poly Humboldt (formerly Humboldt State University) and earned her master's degree at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. She lives on her ancestral homelands in the Coachella Valley with her puppy Havana.
Gordon Lee Johnson
Gordon Lee Johnson, Cahuilla/Cupeño, lives and writes on the Pala Indian Reservation. A former newspaperman, he was last a columnist and feature writer for the Press-Enterprise, covering Southern California’s Inland Empire. He is the author of three books: Rez Dogs Eat Beans, Fast Cars and Frybread, and Bird Songs Don’t Lie.
