Yeye Luisah Teish is a storyteller-writer, an artist-activist, and a spiritual guidance counselor. She's an initiated elder (Iyanifa) in the Ifa/Orisha tradition, and a member of the Global Council for Ancestor Veneration. She has authored six books, most notably Jambalaya: The Natural Woman’s Book of Personal Charms and Practical Rituals, and co-authored On Holy Ground: Commitment and Devotion to Sacred Land, with Kahuna Leilani Birely.
Yeye is a member of the Fountain and the Mother Earth Delegation of the United Original Nations. A contributor to 35 anthologies, and magazines including Ms., Essence, SageWoman, and Yoga Journal, her books have been translated into German, Spanish, and French, and her prayers and poetry have been published in seven indigenous languages. Her articles and artworks appear in Coreopsis: Journal of Myth and Theater, and the Cascadia Subduction Zone Journal of speculative fiction.
She serves as the resident elder-advisor for Restorative Justice for Oakland Youth (RJOY), and she's a member of Jubilee Justice Journeys and the Mother Earth Delegation of the United Indigenous Nations. Her issues are global food security, water quality, and access, reforestation, and violence against women and girls.
Her performances include St. John the Divine Cathedral in New York, The Ogden Museum in New Orleans, The Museu Calouste Gulbenkian in Lisbon Portugal, The Galaxy Theater in Auckland, New Zealand, and La Casa de la Poesia in Caracas, Venezuela.
She has a creative writing specialization certificate from Wesleyan University and has designed, directed, and performed myth and ritual theater in Europe, Venezuela, and New Zealand. She's the spiritual culture consultant for Jubilee Justice Journey for Reparations, Restorative Justice for Oakland Youth, and the Center for Sacred Studies. She has a certificate in food and nutrition from Stanford University and is a co-faculty of the Afro-botany Immersion program for Natural Choices Botanica. She teaches online courses and provides editorial assistance to writers and performers.
