Luis Robert Lee/Guin Yah Geyh was born in 1942 in the Quaker Bridge area of the Seneca Nation’s Allegany Indian Reservation in Western New York.
Raised in the Seneca Longhouse cultural tradition as a member of the Beaver Clan, Luis’s Seneca name is Guin Yah Geyh, which was given to him by his beloved maternal grandmother, Nora. It means, “Something from the Clouds.”
Luis went to school in a one-room school house run by Quakers on the reservation. He awoke early in the morning to do chores on his father’s farm, and walked through the heaps of snow that Western New York is famous for every winter to go to school. He developed a passion for the fine arts and also emerged as a standout athlete in lacrosse, wrestling and football.
Luis’s artistic talent and athleticism took him to Syracuse University. The first in his family to leave the reservation for college, Luis continued playing three sports at Syracuse and graduated with a bachelor in fine arts in advertising design from the prestigious College of Visual and Performing Arts there. While in college, Luis also worked with his father on the high steel as an ironworker, a vocation that the Haudenosaunee (or Iroquois people) have excelled at for generations.
After graduating from college, Luis moved to New York City and began his career as a package designer. He kept up lacrosse as well, playing in the Iroquois Can/Am semi-pro box league, and the New York City and New Jersey Lacrosse Clubs. As a graphic designer, Luis was eventually appointed to Director of Packaging at Hiram Walker and Son, Ltd. in Ontario, Canada. In the late 1970s, Luis decided to found his own boutique design firm based in Connecticut, where for more than three decades he provided packaging design and creative consulting for major food and beverage corporations. Throughout his career as a graphic designer, Luis received numerous national and international honors, including two prestigious CLEO awards.
After four decades of success as a graphic designer, in the early 2000s Luis started spending more of his time engaged in the cultural arts and volunteerism. Luis now creates traditional Iroquois beadwork jewelry, horn rattles, and wampum shell necklaces and earrings. His designs – which are featured in numerous museums on the East coast – are based on the tradition, color, and style of the Haudenosaunee. As an artist, he enjoys drawing inspiration from his Seneca people and creating objects that are true to tradition and technique yet highly “usable” or “wearable” in contemporary society.
Luis also spends a great deal of time volunteering for various nonprofit organizations and community efforts. Before relocating to Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, he was a member of the Suffield, Connecticut Rotary Club for nearly two decades, including serving as the Club’s president and on its board of directors. He was also an active member of the Suffield Foundation for Excellent Schools; a volunteer editor and contributor for The Suffield Observer newspaper; and a longstanding member and past president of the Deep Brook Harbor Board of Directors. Luis’s deep commitment to the community is shown regularly, whether he’s ringing the bell for The Salvation Army, cooking for events, planning lobster dinners for the community, or donating time or artistic services for various charitable causes.
As a lifelong lacrosse player, Luis is also passionate about coaching. In addition to playing an instrumental role in founding the South Windsor lacrosse program in the mid-1980s, Luis spent many years as a volunteer coach for the Suffield High School Varsity and Junior Varsity teams. As a citizen of the Seneca Nation who is comfortable in both Native and non-Native lifeways, Luis believes he has a responsibility to serve as a cultural ambassador. He is called upon frequently to speak to both children and adults about American Indian culture and history. In recent years, Luis has also facilitated cultural exchanges, including organizing two trips for Suffield high school lacrosse players to visit the Seneca Nation, where they gained a deeper appreciation of the game’s ancient roots and exposure to contemporary reservation life.
Luis has been married to Heather Van Loan Lee for 54 years, and together they have two grown children and seven grandchildren.