Meet the Artist

Ryan Dial is an enrolled citizen of the Lumbee tribe of North Carolina and has served as a cultural educator for many years. He employs a variety of skills such as: storytelling, music, and art to teach about the rich histories and cultures of North Carolina's first peoples. Ryan has been involved in the NC native community his entire life. He is a life long powwow dancer with his mom, sister, and now wife. From a young age, Ryan has always advocated for his people and educated others on the tribes in NC.  He believes all knowledge is a gift and it is not his to keep but to share with others. 

 

 

Ryan is currently employed at UNC Chapel Hill as an American Indian Health, Project Manager. He works for both the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, in the Community Outreach and Engagement department, and the UNC American Indian Center where he manages the Southeastern American Indian Cancer health Equity Partnership (SAICEP) and the Health Native North Carolinians network respectively. He graduated UNC Chapel Hill with both a Masters and Bachelors degrees in Clinical Laboratory Science with a minor in American Indian and Indigenous Studies. His graduate research studies the utilization of Hemoglobin A1c testing in Lumbee Communities. 

 

Ryan serves as the Cultural Committee Chair of the Triangle Native American Society, an urban Indian organization recognized by the state of North Carolina as the governing body for Native people in Wake, Johnston, Durham, Orange and Chatham counties. He also is a member of the nation's first Native American Fraternity, Phi Sigma Nu Fraternity Inc, where he serves on the national council as the Chief Elder Brother and as the campus advisor to the Gamma Chapter at UNC. 

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