Performances

Gene Tagaban

Gene Tagaban is an accomplished and gifted storyteller, actor, dancer, musician, trainer and speaker. His heritage is Cherokee, Tlingit and Filipino; he was raised in Alaska . Gene's Native American name Gaay Yaaw loosely translates as “Salmon Home Coming.” He is of the Tak`deintaan Raven Freshwater Sockeye clan of Hoonah , Alaska , and the Child of a Wooshkeetaan Eagle Thunderbird clan of Juneau , Alaska . Gene has fifteen years experience as a trainer, counselor, motivator and speaker. Gene has uniquely integrated his interpersonal skills, Native American heritage and performance artistry with traditional training and counseling techniques to develop inspirational and results-oriented performances, presentations and personal growth work with youth, adolescents and adults. Gene has worked with schools, universities, reservations, corporations, government and mainstream organizations. According to Gene Tagaban, stories are more than entertainment; stories teach. The spirits of our ancestors, who have much to teach, live in stories as well as in songs and dances. Gene brings his tales to life with the use of traditional flutes, drums and rattles, dance and movement, and masks and regalia. Gene's programmes emphasize the lessons one gains and how one learns to be a better person through stories. These lessons involve the role of humans in the natural world and the importance of family and lineage in one's own identity. Gene is Media Director and Spokesperson of the Honor Day Foundation and Council member of Honor Day. He lives in the Pacific Northwest .