> ## Content Index
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# Guardian of the Word: The Griot in America
- URL: https://www.cascadepbs.org/show/the-story-in-us/episode/griot-storytelling-b3kyqi/
- Published: 2026-01-28T22:15:50.000Z
- Updated: 2026-02-05T15:30:09.000Z
- Description: A Griot in New York preserves the legacy of West Africa’s oral history through story and song.
- Author: Cascade PBS Staff
- Tags: The Story In Us, Season 1, Episode 5, #ZZZ_Episode_e9977cfb-ffb9-435d-9ae0-3459e9365d58, #episode, #ZZZ_Show_ebe0ff9d-66a9-4132-8148-0079c1e37204, #v1.16

Yacouba Sissoko has a lifelong mission: to bring the ancient tradition of the griot to modern-day New York and the next generation of African Americans. Sissoko is “a living history book,” trained in the sacred oral storytelling tradition of Mali. Through the memorization of music crafted over centuries, Sissoko and the next class of griots keep the voices of the ancestors alive.