Traci Sorell is an American author of fiction and nonfiction works for teens and an enrolled member of the

Cherokee Nation The Cherokee Nation (Cherokee: ᏣᎳᎩᎯ ᎠᏰᎵ ''Tsalagihi Ayeli'' or ᏣᎳᎩᏰᎵ ''Tsalagiyehli''), also known as the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, is the largest of three Cherokee federally recognized tribes in the United States. It ...

Personal lifestyle

Sorell has spent her life with her family living on the

tribe's reservation in northeastern

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

Fort Gibson Lake The Fort Gibson Dam is a gravity dam on the Grand (Neosho) River in Oklahoma, north of the town of Fort Gibson. The dam forms Fort Gibson Lake. The primary purposes of the dam and lake are flood control and hydroelectric power production, altho ...

. Her mother's family has lived in the area since 1838 when

Cherokee people The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, th ...

were removed from their homelands. She has a younger brother and sister. As a child, Sorell learned about her ancestors from her grandmother, fishing, and caring for animals and the land. She also enjoyed reading, singing, and performing in theater productions. When Sorell was a teenager, she and her family moved to Southern California, and she became the first person in her family to graduate from college. Her mother, sister, and brother later received degrees, as well. Sorell's second language is Spanish, though she is trying to learn the

Cherokee language 200px, Number of speakers Cherokee or Tsalagi ( chr, ᏣᎳᎩ ᎦᏬᏂᎯᏍᏗ, ) is an endangered-to-moribund Iroquoian language and the native language of the Cherokee people. ''Ethnologue'' states that there were 1,520 Cherokee speaker ...

Education

Sorell majored in Native American Studies and minored in

Ethnic Studies Ethnic studies, in the United States, is the interdisciplinary study of difference—chiefly race, ethnicity, and nation, but also sexuality, gender, and other such markings—and power, as expressed by the state, by civil society, and by indivi ...

at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

graduating with a Bachelor Arts in 1994. During her time at Berkeley, Sorell lived in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

and taught English and Spanish to children and adults. In 1996, she received a Master of Arts from the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory. T ...

, where she studied American Indian Studies with a concentration in Federal Indian Law & Policy. Later, Sorell returned to school and received a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

degree from the

University of Wisconsin Law School The University of Wisconsin Law School is the professional graduate law school of the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Located in Madison, Wisconsin, the school was founded in 1868. The University of Wisconsin Law School is guided by a "law in ...

in 2001.

Career

Sorell began her career by helping Native Nations and their citizens by writing "legal codes, testimony for Congressional hearings, federal budget requests, grants and reports." Since beginning her writing career, Sorell has continued to focus on incorporating culturally accurate books about Cherokee and other Indigenous people for children and young adults. Sorell is currently a Tulsa Artist Fellow.

Awards and honors

Four of Sorell's books are

Junior Library Guild Junior Library Guild, formerly the Junior Literary Guild, is a commercial book club devoted to juvenile literature. It was created in 1929 as one of the enterprises of the Literary Guild, an adult book club created in 1927 by Samuel W. Craig and H ...

selections: ''Powwow Day'', ''We Are Still Here!'', ''We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga'', and ''Classified''.

Publications

Ages 4+

*''We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga'', illustrated by

Frané Lessac Frané Lessac is a U.S.-born author, illustrator and painter who lives in Western Australia. She has published many children's books and won numerous awards for her illustrations. Early life Lessac grew up in Cliffside Park, New Jersey, a sma ...

(2019) *'' At the Mountain's Base'' / ᎾᏍᎩᏃ ᎤᎾᎢ ᎡᎳᏗᏢ ᎣᏓᎸᎢ, ᎾᎢ, illustrated by Weshoyot Alvitre (2019) *''Pow Wow Day'', illustrated by Madelyn Goodnight (2022) *''Being Home'', illustrated by

Michaela Goade Michaela Goade (born 1989 or 1990) is an American illustrator. A member of the Tlingit and Haida tribes, she is known for her work on picture books about Indigenous people. She won the 2021 Caldecott Medal for her illustrations in ''We Are Water ...

(2023) *''Clack, Clack! Smack! A Cherokee Stickball Story'', illustrated by Joseph Erb (2024)

Ages 7+

*''Classified: The Secret Career of Mary Golda Ross, Cherokee Aerospace Engineer'', illustrated by Natasha Donovan (2021) *''One Land, Many Nations: Volume 1'' with Lee Francis IV, illustrated by Jesse Hummingbird (2021) *''We Are Still Here! Native American Truths Everyone Should Know'', illustrated by

(2021)

Middle grade

*''Indian No More'' with Charlene Willing McManis (2019) *''She Persisted: Wilma Mankiller'' with

Chelsea Clinton Chelsea Victoria Clinton (born February 27, 1980) is an American writer and global health advocate. She is the only child of former U.S. President Bill Clinton and former U.S. Secretary of State and 2016 presidential candidate Hillary Clinton ...

, illustrated by Alexandra Boiger and Gillian Flint (2022) *''Contenders: Two Native Baseball Players, One World Series'', illustrated by

Arigon Starr Arigon Starr is a Kickapoo singer, actor, playwright and comic book writer, who is known for her one-woman shows. She has won numerous awards for her music, art, and plays, including the Native American Music Awards for Best Independent Recording ...

(2023) *''Mascot'' with Charles Waters (2023) *''Riding the Trail: Cherokees Remember the Removal'' with Will Chavez (2025)

Anthology contributions

*''Thanku: Poems of Gratitude'', edited by Miranda Paul, illustrated by Marlena Myles (2019) *''No Voice Too Small: Fourteen Young Americans Making History'', edited by Lindsay H. Metcalf, Keila V. Dawson, and Jeanette Bradley, illustrated by Jeanette Bradley (2020) *''The Reluctant Storyteller'' with Art Coulson, illustrated by Carlin Bear Don't Walk and Roy Boney Jr. (2020) *''The Talk: Conversations About Race, Love & Truth'', edited by Wade Hudson and Cheryl Willis Hudson (2020) *''Ancestor Approved: Intertribal Stories for Kids'', edited by

Cynthia Leitich Smith Cynthia Leitich Smith (born 1967) is a New York Times best-selling author of fiction for children and young adults. A member of the Muscogee Creek Nation, she writes fiction for children centered on the lives of modern-day Native Americans. Th ...

(2021) *''Wonderful Women of the World'', edited by Laurie Halse Anderson (2021) *''No World Too Big: Young People Fighting for Global Climate Change'', edited by Lindsay H. Metcalf, Keila V. Dawson, and Jeanette Bradley, illustrated by Jeanette Bradley (2023)

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sorell, Traci Year of birth missing (living people) Living people 21st-century American writers 21st-century American women writers 21st-century Native American women Cherokee Nation writers University of California, Berkeley alumni University of Arizona alumni University of Wisconsin Law School alumni English-language writers American children's writers American women children's writers DC Comics people Native American women writers 21st-century Native American writers