Tribal Council
Meet our Tribal Council
Greg Sarris
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Tribal Chairman
In 1992, when Greg Sarris was beginning his teaching career at UCLA as an assistant professor, he got word of another tribe attempting to establish a casino at Tomales Bay. This tribe was not Coast Miwok or Southern Pomo and was well out of its ancestral territory. Greg immediately notified and consulted with Tribal elders, and soon after called the first meeting to reorganize the Federated Indians of the Graton Rancheria. He led the push for restoration of the tribe as a federally recognized American Indian nation. It took years of gathering records, family histories and interviews of all who were descended from the original Tribal members, in order for this evidence to be submitted to the United States Department of the Interior. Finally, eight years later, Greg co-authored the Graton Rancheria Restoration Act, 25 U.S.C. §1300n (Act) with California Indian Legal Services. President Clinton signed the Act into law on December 27, 2000, officially granting the Tribe status as a federally recognized tribe. The Act mandated that the Secretary of the Interior take land in the Tribe’s aboriginal territory of Marin or Sonoma Counties into trust as the Tribe’s reservation. This was only the beginning…
Greg is currently the Tribal Chairman of the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria. He is in his fifteenth elected term as Chairman of the Tribe and is currently leading the Tribe in its economic development endeavors. Tribal Chairman Greg Sarris oversees all business negotiations and the daily operations of the Tribe.
From 2001 to 2005 Greg then went on to become the Fletcher Jones Professor of Creative Writing and Literature at Loyola Marymount University. And from 2005 to present, Greg has held the Graton Rancheria Endowed Chair in Writing and Native American Studies at Sonoma State University. He teaches Creative Writing and lecture-based classes on Native Cultures of Northern California.
Greg’s passion for written arts is the inspiration for his literary accomplishments, which include published books, stories and story-telling, plays and his award-winning HBO Miniseries. He is equally passionate about the environment, specifically, laying the ground work for organic farming that does not exploit people or resources, and will sustain for many future generations. This “sustainable development” is the core of Tribal Chairman Greg Sarris’ coming home to being “Keepers of the Land”.
Learn more about Greg Sarris by visiting his website at www.greg-sarris.com
Lorelle W.B. Ross
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Vice-Chair
Lorelle Ross has served five elected terms as a member of the Tribal Council to further her commitment to building a healthy tribal community that values cultural and social development, health, education, and economic fortitude. Beginning when she was just nineteen, she has served as a Council Member, Treasurer, and currently is serving her second term as Vice-Chair.
Lorelle’s grandfather was one of Graton Rancheria’s original distributees. After the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria was illegally terminated in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s, her Grandfather maintained ownership of one acre on the original Rancheria. The one-acre parcel is currently owned and held in fee simple by Lorelle’s mother Gloria Armstrong, who has lived on the land for over fifty years. Lorelle was also raised on this parcel and currently lives with her mother in the original wood frame house that was first constructed on the Rancheria approximately seventy years ago.
Melissa Elgin
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Tribal Secretary
Ms. Elgin began her service on Tribal Council as a six-month appointment to fill a vacant seat from July to December 2014. She is now serving in her fourth elected term as Tribal Council Secretary. She received her Associate Degree with high honors in 2010. She was employed with the Tribe between March 2013 and June 2018 in various capacities, including Administrative Assistant to the Housing and Environmental Departments, Project Coordinator for the CalTrans Heritage Management Grant, and served as Interim Co-Chief Operations Officer, before fully transitioning to focus on her leadership role and primary elected duties. Prior to working for the Tribe, she had worked at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital as an Emergency Room Admissions Representative for over 12 years. She currently serves as the Tribal Council Liaison to the Tribe’s language and basketry revitalization efforts and is just as passionate about genealogy and family histories as a tool for community-building.
Joan Harper
Tribal Treasurer
Joan Harper began serving as Tribal Treasurer in 2020 and is the Chairwoman of the Council’s Fiscal and Audit Committee. Before that she served as Chairwoman of the Tribe’s Sacred Sites Protection Committee.
Joan has a Bachelor of Science degree in Natural Resources Planning and Interpretation from Humboldt State University, a Master of City Planning degree from San Diego State University, and a master’s degree and Ph.D. in American Studies from the University of Hawaii.
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Treasurer
Joan Harper began serving as Tribal Treasurer in 2020 and is the Chairwoman of the Council’s Fiscal and Audit Committee.
Before that she served as Chairwoman of the Tribe’s Sacred Sites Protection Committee. Joan has a Bachelor of Science degree in Natural Resources Planning and Interpretation from Humboldt State University, a Master of City Planning degree from San Diego State University, and a master’s degree and Ph.D. in American Studies from the University of Hawaii.
She has 30 years of experience as a city planner doing long-range community planning, land-use policy analysis, drafting land-use legislation, and in historic preservation, environmental review, and transportation planning. In addition, as a college lecturer, she taught courses in Native American natural resources management.
She has 2 sons and 2 grandchildren.
Robert Stafford Jr.
Member at Large
Mr. Stafford has been an active tribal member for the past 10 years. He was elected to tribal council in January of 2015 with a hope to improve health, education and cultural values for all tribal citizens. He has been employed with the City and County of San Francisco for the past 18 years.
Read more about Robert
Member at large
Mr. Stafford has been an active tribal member for the past 10 years. He was elected to tribal council in January of 2015 with a hope to improve health, education and cultural values for all tribal citizens. He has been employed with the City and County of San Francisco for the past 18 years.
Patricia Miraz
Member at Large
Patricia Miraz is the newest elected member of the Tribal Council. Prior to her Tribal Council appointment, Patricia worked in the tribal office for 8 years. Patricia’s tenure included interning for the Wellness and Justice Department, serving the TANF department as an Employment and Education Coordinator, followed by the Director of the Tribal TANF Child Welfare Grant, and finally, the Education Department Manager. Patricia Graduated from Sonoma State University with a Bachelors in Sociology with Distinction and two minors in Political Science and Social and Behavioral Science. She received certification in College and Career advising from UC Berkeley Extension.
Read more about Patricia
Member at large
Patricia Miraz is the newest elected member of the Tribal Council. Prior to her Tribal Council appointment, Patricia worked in the tribal office for 8 years. Patricia’s tenure included interning for the Wellness and Justice Department, serving the TANF department as an Employment and Education Coordinator, followed by the Director of the Tribal TANF Child Welfare Grant, and finally, the Education Department Manager. Patricia Graduated from Sonoma State University with a Bachelors in Sociology with Distinction and two minors in Political Science and Social and Behavioral Science. She received certification in College and Career advising from UC Berkeley Extension and continues to volunteer in the field of Education at Tennyson High School in Hayward working with their SPED program.
Lawrence Stafford
Member at Large
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Member at large
My name is Lawrence Stafford. I was born and raised in Sonoma County. I attended college and majored in business, and have been employed with Hewlett Packard Company for over 31 years. My position entails strategic procurement and logistics management. I am currently serving my thirteenth year as an elected Tribal Council Member at Large. I also serve on the GEDA board, Graton Economic Development Authority, for the past thirteen months. I am proud to say I am a husband, father, stepfather, and grandfather. That in itself drives my desire to continue to work hard in life.