Henry Sales

Henry Sales is an Indigenous educator who was born in San Juan Atitán, Mama Maya Territories in Guatemala. Henry has received international attention for the work he does with Mam Maya community in Oakland, CA. His advocacy and work have been written about and highlighted by the New Yorker, the New York Times, NPR, and the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage. Henry is an advocate for culture and language and is working on a PhD at the University of California at Berkeley after working at Oakland Unified Public Schools. He speaks Maya Mam, English, & Spanish and his interpretation skills have helped many through the community programs he has created and his tireless efforts to ensure that Mama Maya people in Oakland survived the COVID pandemic. Henty Sales also teaches Mam Maya language classes, participate sin traditional dance group, organizes Mam Maya cultural events in the San Francisco Bay Area, has worked as a Mam Maya interpreter, records public service announcements on topics ranging from the U.S. census to information about COVID-19, and much more. Henry Sales is also deeply devoted to his family and his Christian church in Oakland, CA. Henry is tireless and we can't begin to cover all that he does to make this world a better place and to protect the rights and wellbeing of Indigenous peoples. Ch'jonte Henry!