Osiyo (ᎣᏏᏲ) and happy Indigenous Peoples’ Day! In honor of the day, I thought I’d do a little introduction to the Yanasi YoYo name and my intent in choosing it for my company.

There are a few reasons I chose Yanasi as the name for my YoYo Company. The primary reason is an effort to try and expand the awareness and understanding of Native American culture. I’m a member of the Cherokee Nation, and like every enrolled member I can trace my lineage back to an ancestor on the Dawes Rolls. But that also means I am generations removed from my Cherokee heritage even though I spent the majority of my life in Oklahoma and North Carolina, surrounded by the historical and current homes of the Tribe. For the past few years I’ve made an effort to learn what I can about my Cherokee heritage, and I thought that trying to share what I’ve learned, in whatever small way I can, would be to the benefit of everyone.