Grayhawk Perkins

Native American Culture Bearer

by Mimi Greenwood Knight

NOT MANY OF US CAN BRAG we’ve cooked nutria with Paul Prudhomme, performed with Amanda Shaw and palled around with Dr. John. Grayhawk Perkins has done all that— and so much more. In fact, if I could live three lifetimes, I doubt I’d accomplish half what he has. Yet, in his mid-60s, Perkins doesn’t seem to be slowing down. We managed to convince everybody’s favorite northshore culture bearer to stop long enough for a chat.

It was a crisp winter day, and Perkins was working to restore the historic Otis House at Fairview Riverside State Park. As we settled into a sunny spot on the front porch steps, park visitors strolled past and Perkins had a ready smile and quick rejoinder for each. He’s worked for the state park system in many capacities for almost 30 years, and it’s clear he takes pride in the work. But he’s always maintained a part-time status so he can keep his finger in countless other pies.

The musician, historian, artist, author, tribal storyteller, naturalist and educator was born in New Orleans and has lived on the northshore for 24 years, but he says, “Everybody claims me.” Of Choctaw and Houma Nation descendancy, his heart’s work is preserving the traditions of his people through music, storytelling, cooking, writing, crafts, artwork, and more. His never-meta-stranger personality helps. After five minutes with Perkins, you feel like you’ve known him all your life. But it’s his seemingly boundless energy that’s most remarkable.

During Perkins’ three decades with the park system, he’s also taught at the International School in New Orleans and Pathways on the northshore. He’s shared his Native American storytelling at “every library in the state” on his own and at schools and festivals through the non-profit Young Audiences. He’s performed benefit concerts with his childhood friend, Mac Rebennack (Dr. John, to the rest of us). For 40 years, he’s served as the Native American coordinator for the Jazz & Heritage Festival, helping develop the children’s and Native American areas. He’s taught seminars for every branch of the military, MCd the Native American Festival—as well as playing music and storytelling there—plus taught environmental studies and worked as a supervisor for Americore. He designed and created the Canne Brulee exhibit of a Mobilian village in Kenner’s Rivertown and has worked as a historical consultant for films and reenactments. And we haven’t even discussed his artwork.

More recently, Perkins has begun traveling back and forth to the University of Alabama, where he’s become a regular, offering classeson Native American cooking and culture.

He’s also taught college programs and played music throughout Europe. His music with Mezcal Jazz Unit out of France has been nominated for a Grammy, and he has two books of native tales about to be released by the University of Alabama Press. Lastly, (but not really), he’s working on rereleasing his popular 13 Moons CD, which combines traditional Mobilian chants with his original jazz orchestrations. And he still finds time to perform at Jazz Fest and Voodoo Fest.

How does one man muster the energy for so many endeavors? “I try to work at things I can feel good about,” says Perkins. “I love interacting with the public. I really feed on it. When I’m working with kids—whether in the school or at festivals—I try to be a positive male model for the kids.” It’s not unusual, when Perkins is out and about, for a stranger to approach, hug him and tell him what an impact he’s had on his life. “I’ll never be a wealthy person, but you can’t put a price on something like that,” he says.

Although his music has been Grammy nominated and his fans are eagerly awaiting his new books, Perkins has no time for chasing fortune and fame. His motivation comes from elsewhere. “It’s amazing to me that I’m working in the library system, when so many of my family members in the past weren’t allowed in public schools and public libraries because we weren’t white,” he says. “It makes me stop and think about all I’ve learned over the past 60 years and all I’ve been able to accomplish that they couldn’t, really. It’s quite humbling. And I can hear my grandfather’s voice saying, ‘There are 365 days in a year. You’ve got a lot of time at the end of your life to rest.’”

Throughout his career, Perkins has amassed awards and recognition, but he says he actually can’t remember what most of them were for. He was given the St. Tammany Parish Cultural Artist Award in 2010 and recently received a Culture Bearer Award from the lieutenant governor. He received a key to the city of Lafayette and was declared an “honorary Lafayette Cajun.” In 1994, he was named Man of the Year by the Department of Tourism, Museums and Education, and he has a box full of medallions he’s received from different branches of the service. One honor that’s dear to his heart was being asked to perform the eulogy at Dr. John’s funeral, which he did in his native tongue. He says, “Mac was part Choctaw, and he was very proud of it.”

Perkins is just finishing up two new books, Grayhawk’s Fables and Dare to be Scared with Grayhawk. The former is a collection of updated traditional native tales for all ages. “Grayhawk’s Fables are stories I grew up hearing,” he says. “Sometimes I only knew part of the story and had to research to find the rest. Or I might hear one part here and one part there and added in what I know. Then I brought them all into the 21st century.” Dare to be Scared with Grayhawk is retellings of experiences from his own life. “I never know how many stories there’ll be until I get finished,” he says. “I just keep gathering stories, and when I’m done, I know it.” Recently hospitalized for a foot injury, he used the time to write a dozen stories.

Recently, after a storytelling gig where he’d performed some of these traditional tales, Perkins was approached by an elder. “He was crying, and he told me he hadn’t heard one of the stories I’d told since he was five years old. It’s an honor—and a duty—for me to preserve these stories and my people’s history. It’s something that drives me. Not because I want to write a book, or I want to be famous, but because I don’t want them to be forgotten.”

It’s clear that Perkins has a muse in his wife, Robin. “She’s the most unbelievable person I know,” he says. “She’s very supportive of anything I do. She’s my Jiminy Cricket—my conscience. There’s not a day that I don’t call her, even if I’m in France or New York. She’s truly one of the most special people I know, and I couldn’t be without her.”

As far as his original music goes, Perkins says he finds inspiration in some unusual places. “I was sitting in a coffee shop on Magazine Street in New Orleans and heard a sound I liked. I pulled out my digital recorder to record it and realized it was the sound of cars going through potholes on the street. But I was able to use it in a song. I even recorded the sound of my hotel toilet flushing and worked it into a song,” he laughs. “Everything has a rhythm, so anything can be a musical inspiration.”

Perkins admits there are some things he’s getting too old to do. So, he’s working to pass them along to younger people who show an interest. One of them is flint knapping, the making of flaked or chipped stone tools from solid rock. For years, he’s demonstrated this traditional craft to “kids of all ages” at schools and festivals. “I can’t do it anymore because of arthritis,” he says. “So, I’m passing it along to those who still can.” He does still enjoy carving wooden

cooking paddles, mostly for gifts, and drawing oneof-a-kind, mixed-media animal emblem art. “My wife will look around after dinner, and I’ll be gone,” he says. “She never knows where she’ll find me, working on music or drawing or carving or recording a story that just popped into my head.”

Clearly, there aren’t enough hours in the day for Perkins to court all the muses that come a’calling. If you’ve been lucky enough to attend one of his interactive storytelling and music performances, you’ve encountered a true northshore gem, one we hope will be creating and sharing with us for decades to come.