Spotlight on “The Forgetters” by Greg Sarris

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A tender, astonishing, and richly beautiful story cycle about remembering our shared histories and repairing the world.

About The Forgetters

Perched atop Gravity Hill, two crow sisters—Question Woman and Answer Woman—recall stories from dawn to dusk. Question Woman cannot remember a single story except by asking to hear it again, and Answer Woman can tell all the stories but cannot think of them unless she is asked.

Together they recount the journeys of the Forgetters, so that we may all remember. Unforgettable characters pass through these pages: a boy who opens the clouds in the sky, a young woman who befriends three enigmatic people who might also be animals, two village leaders who hold a storytelling contest. All are in search of a crucial lesson from the past, one that will help them repair the rifts in their own lives.

Told in the classic style of Southern Pomo and Coast Miwok creation stories, this book vaults from the sacred time before this time to the recent present and even the near future. Heralded as a “a fine storyteller” by Joy Harjo, Greg Sarris offers us these tales in a new genre of his own making. The Forgetters is an astonishment—comforting and startling, inspiring reveries and deepening our love of the world we share.

Praise for The Forgetters

“Greg Sarris once again tells us a story filled with stories that lift the spirits in troubled times. A wonderful read that transports us to a realm of beauty, kindness, and love of life.”—Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, author of An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States

“This is such a beautiful collection. Pure, fresh enchantment. Bravo, Greg. Bravo, Heyday Books!”—Joan Frank, author of Try To Get Lost and Late Work.

About Greg Sarris, Author of The Forgetters

Greg Sarris is currently serving his sixteenth term as Chairman of the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria and his first term as board chair for the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian. His publications include Keeping Slug Woman Alive (1993), Grand Avenue (1994, reissued 2015), Watermelon Nights (1998, reissued 2021), How a Mountain Was Made (2017, published by Heyday), and Becoming Story (2022, published by Heyday). Greg lives and works in Sonoma County, California. 

Greg Sarris is currently the Tribal Chairman of the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria. He is in his sixteenth elected term as Chairman of the Tribe and is currently leading the Tribe in its economic development endeavors with Station Casinos. Greg oversees all business negotiations and the daily operations of the Tribe. 

Greg spearheaded the effort to build the Graton Resort and Casino, which opened November 2013. A large portion of the profits from the casino will be given back to the community where it is located, Sonoma County and the City of Rohnert Park, for the preservation of public parks and open spaces, and for the establishment of low-cost organic farming for low income members of the community. 

You can find and follow Greg Sarris on his website, on Facebook, Instagram, and X (formerly Twitter).

Titles by Greg Sarris

Don’t miss other titles by Greg Sarris.

“Becoming Story”

In “Becoming Story” Greg Sarris asks: What does it mean to be truly connected to the place you call home—to walk where innumerable generations of your ancestors have walked? And what does it mean when you dedicate your life to making that connection even deeper?

“Watermelon Nights”

First published in 1998, “Watermelon Nights” remains one of the few works of fiction to illuminate the experiences of urban Native Americans and is the only one to depict the historical conditions that shape a tribe’s rural-to-urban migration.

“Mabel McKay: Weaving the Dream”

She spent her life teaching others how the spirit speaks through the Dream, how the spirit heals, and how the spirit demands to be heard.

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