Larry Spotted Crow Mann is an enrolled citizen of the Hassanamisco Nipmuc Band of Massachusetts. He is an award-winning writer, poet, cultural educator, Traditional Storyteller, tribal drummer, dancer and motivational speaker whose work focuses on youth sobriety, cultural preservation, environmental awareness and Indigenous education.
Mann has traveled throughout the United States and to many parts of the world sharing the music, culture, oral traditions and history of Nipmuc people through schools, universities, museums, pow wows and community organizations. He has lectured at colleges and universities across the country on topics ranging from Native American sovereignty and identity to environmental justice and cultural survival.
He serves as Executive Director of the Ohketeau Cultural Center and has served as a board member of the Nipmuk Cultural Preservation Trust, an organization dedicated to promoting the cultural, social and spiritual needs of Nipmuc people while serving as an educational resource for Native American studies. Mann has also served as a Review Committee Member for The Native American Poets Project at the Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology. He is additionally a member of Governor Maura Healey’s Indigenous Advisory Council on Environmental Justice.
A major part of Mann’s work has centered on advocating for drug and alcohol prevention among Native American youth. Working in collaboration with Native leaders and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, he helped create educational resources focused on prevention, cultural healing and wellness for Native teens and communities.
Mann’s literary and media work has received international recognition. His first book, Tales From the Whispering Basket, a collection of short stories and poetry, was internationally acclaimed. His groundbreaking novel, The Mourning Road to Thanksgiving, received the 2015 Native American WordCraft Circle of Honors Award for Best Young Adult Novel of the Year. His later work, Drumming & Dreaming, skillfully brings forth the Oral Tradition through a powerful collection of legends and teachings rooted in the spirit of the land and ancestral voices. Selections from the book have been featured in statewide educational curriculum initiatives in Massachusetts connected to youth wellness and substance abuse prevention.
In 2021, Mann became the first Native American to sing the opening honor song and land acknowledgment at the Boston Marathon starting line. That same year, he received the Indigenous Peoples Award from the Berkshire County Branch of the NAACP for his leadership, advocacy and cultural work.
In 2024, Mann received a Signal Gold Award for his PBS feature Reckoning and Repair on Stories from the Stage, highlighting Indigenous history, truth-telling and cultural resilience.
Mann has spent his entire adult life serving his community and continues on a lifelong journey of preserving culture, uplifting Indigenous voices and creating pathways of healing, education and understanding for future generations.
In 2010 his poetry was a winner in the Memscapes Journal of Fine Arts.
2013 his poetry was nominated for the Pushcart Prize
Mann's first book, Tales From the Whispering Basket, is internationally acclaimed and has received excellent reviews.
Mann’s second book , The Mourning Road to Thanksgiving , the 2015 Native American WordCraft Circle of Honors winner. Scholars, students and everyday readers are calling it one of the best books they have ever read.
And Mann's latest book Drumming & Dreaming, a spectacular collection of Nipmuc Legends shared through the Voice of Crow and Bear. Some of the Stories in Drumming & Dreaming will be featured in a state-wide curriculum across Massachusetts as part of a Life Skills Training for teacher and student; for alcohol/ drug prevention in Native American teens.
Another very important part of Mann's work has been advocating for drug and alcohol prevention In Native American Teens. This is certainly an issue for all youth but by far Native American teens have one of the highest rates of drug and alcohol problems which has lead to a staggering level of teen suicide.
Mann, along with other Native American leaders worked in collaboration with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health to create a booklet as a resource for the prevention of drug and alcohol abuse.
Click on the cultural outreach page to get a copy.
Larry Spotted Crow Mann was applauded for his role in the PBS Native American film We shall Remain, directed by Chris Eyre.
Also featured in two documentaries- Winner of the NPS 2007 Award for Interpretive Media: Living in Two Worlds, Native American Experiences on the Boston Harbor Islands,
And First Patriots, produced by Aaron Cadieux.
Furthermore he has worked in the field of human services for over 10 years, mostly in the field of mental health and helping at risk youth.
Protecting the environment:
Worked with Tribal, federal and state agencies to preserve land and wildlife: notably Atlantic Salmon .
Music:
The Drum, which is the Heartbeat of Mother Earth holds a special place for Mann. Mann, along with his sons and cousins formed the Native American Drum Group, Quabbin Lake Singers in 2000. The group composed their first CD entitled ‘Young Hearts Old Traditions’ in 2004, recorded by Sharp Recording Studio®
Mann Continues singing with Hand Drum , or Water Drum style for many social and spiritual occasions.
* Publishing’s include the Memescapes Journal of Fine Arts at Quinsigamond College.
* Indian Country Today Magazine
* Contributing work in the book by Margaret Barton, New England on Fire , and
* Dawn Land Voices: Native American Anthology of New England : University of Nebraska Press
Mann's poetry and quotes have been included in:
* Go Green Conference for the Medical Services Administration of Puerto Rico
* WordCraft Circle of Native American Writers
* Circle Tied to Mother Earth
* My Heart Is Red Project: A journey across the United States and Canada of photography and video of Native Americans, by Mayoke photography.
Contact: [email protected]
Mann has traveled throughout the United States and to many parts of the world sharing the music, culture, oral traditions and history of Nipmuc people through schools, universities, museums, pow wows and community organizations. He has lectured at colleges and universities across the country on topics ranging from Native American sovereignty and identity to environmental justice and cultural survival.
He serves as Executive Director of the Ohketeau Cultural Center and has served as a board member of the Nipmuk Cultural Preservation Trust, an organization dedicated to promoting the cultural, social and spiritual needs of Nipmuc people while serving as an educational resource for Native American studies. Mann has also served as a Review Committee Member for The Native American Poets Project at the Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology. He is additionally a member of Governor Maura Healey’s Indigenous Advisory Council on Environmental Justice.
A major part of Mann’s work has centered on advocating for drug and alcohol prevention among Native American youth. Working in collaboration with Native leaders and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, he helped create educational resources focused on prevention, cultural healing and wellness for Native teens and communities.
Mann’s literary and media work has received international recognition. His first book, Tales From the Whispering Basket, a collection of short stories and poetry, was internationally acclaimed. His groundbreaking novel, The Mourning Road to Thanksgiving, received the 2015 Native American WordCraft Circle of Honors Award for Best Young Adult Novel of the Year. His later work, Drumming & Dreaming, skillfully brings forth the Oral Tradition through a powerful collection of legends and teachings rooted in the spirit of the land and ancestral voices. Selections from the book have been featured in statewide educational curriculum initiatives in Massachusetts connected to youth wellness and substance abuse prevention.
In 2021, Mann became the first Native American to sing the opening honor song and land acknowledgment at the Boston Marathon starting line. That same year, he received the Indigenous Peoples Award from the Berkshire County Branch of the NAACP for his leadership, advocacy and cultural work.
In 2024, Mann received a Signal Gold Award for his PBS feature Reckoning and Repair on Stories from the Stage, highlighting Indigenous history, truth-telling and cultural resilience.
Mann has spent his entire adult life serving his community and continues on a lifelong journey of preserving culture, uplifting Indigenous voices and creating pathways of healing, education and understanding for future generations.
In 2010 his poetry was a winner in the Memscapes Journal of Fine Arts.
2013 his poetry was nominated for the Pushcart Prize
Mann's first book, Tales From the Whispering Basket, is internationally acclaimed and has received excellent reviews.
Mann’s second book , The Mourning Road to Thanksgiving , the 2015 Native American WordCraft Circle of Honors winner. Scholars, students and everyday readers are calling it one of the best books they have ever read.
And Mann's latest book Drumming & Dreaming, a spectacular collection of Nipmuc Legends shared through the Voice of Crow and Bear. Some of the Stories in Drumming & Dreaming will be featured in a state-wide curriculum across Massachusetts as part of a Life Skills Training for teacher and student; for alcohol/ drug prevention in Native American teens.
Another very important part of Mann's work has been advocating for drug and alcohol prevention In Native American Teens. This is certainly an issue for all youth but by far Native American teens have one of the highest rates of drug and alcohol problems which has lead to a staggering level of teen suicide.
Mann, along with other Native American leaders worked in collaboration with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health to create a booklet as a resource for the prevention of drug and alcohol abuse.
Click on the cultural outreach page to get a copy.
Larry Spotted Crow Mann was applauded for his role in the PBS Native American film We shall Remain, directed by Chris Eyre.
Also featured in two documentaries- Winner of the NPS 2007 Award for Interpretive Media: Living in Two Worlds, Native American Experiences on the Boston Harbor Islands,
And First Patriots, produced by Aaron Cadieux.
Furthermore he has worked in the field of human services for over 10 years, mostly in the field of mental health and helping at risk youth.
Protecting the environment:
Worked with Tribal, federal and state agencies to preserve land and wildlife: notably Atlantic Salmon .
Music:
The Drum, which is the Heartbeat of Mother Earth holds a special place for Mann. Mann, along with his sons and cousins formed the Native American Drum Group, Quabbin Lake Singers in 2000. The group composed their first CD entitled ‘Young Hearts Old Traditions’ in 2004, recorded by Sharp Recording Studio®
Mann Continues singing with Hand Drum , or Water Drum style for many social and spiritual occasions.
* Publishing’s include the Memescapes Journal of Fine Arts at Quinsigamond College.
* Indian Country Today Magazine
* Contributing work in the book by Margaret Barton, New England on Fire , and
* Dawn Land Voices: Native American Anthology of New England : University of Nebraska Press
Mann's poetry and quotes have been included in:
* Go Green Conference for the Medical Services Administration of Puerto Rico
* WordCraft Circle of Native American Writers
* Circle Tied to Mother Earth
* My Heart Is Red Project: A journey across the United States and Canada of photography and video of Native Americans, by Mayoke photography.
Contact: [email protected]
