Storyteller Thawn Sherenté Harris, a citizen of the Narragansett Tribe, shares his people’s rich traditions with the wider community through oral history, traditional song, and dance. Together with his wife of 28 years, Eleanor Dove Harris, and their seven children, he lives near their tribal lands, where they continue to pass on the cultural values and lifeways of their ancestors.

Following the paths of those before him, Thawn plays the cedar flute and hand drum, and is an accomplished social dancer and singer. His storytelling and cultural presentations have been featured by the New England Foundation for the Arts, Rhythm & Roots Music Festival, and Rhode Island Public Libraries, as well as in numerous schools, colleges, organizations, and corporations throughout New England.

Thawn’s achievements include being named World Champion Eastern War Dancer (2006) and Motif Favorite Cultural Storyteller of the Year (2023). As a cultural ambassador, he has traveled to Tanzania with the University of Rhode Island’s Coastal Resources Exchange Program. A proud URI graduate, Thawn now serves as a Physical Education Advisor at the Metropolitan Regional Career and Technical Center in Rhode Island.