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Indigenous, First Nations, Native Theatre

In this section, content focuses on the work of Indigenous, First Nations, and Native theatremakers. Mary Kathryn Nagle’s series Native Voices is a great starting point, as are series specifically focusing on the performance practices of Kānaka Maoli, the Indigenous people of Hawai‘i, and on Alaska Native theatre.

The Latest

Elevating Indigenous Perspectives with Rhiana Yazzie
Podcast
Elevating Indigenous Perspectives with Rhiana Yazzie
by Yura Sapi, Rhiana Yazzie
18 April 2024
On Between Two Knees, or About Other Futures
Essay
On Between Two Knees, or About Other Futures
by Sebastián Eddowes-Vargas
17 April 2024
Theatre as Medicine with CJ Ochoco
Podcast
Theatre as Medicine with CJ Ochoco
by Yura Sapi, CJ Ochoco
11 April 2024
Performance of Don’t Feed the Indians—A Divine Comedy Pageant
Video

Performance of Don’t Feed the Indians—A Divine Comedy Pageant

Sunday 12 November 2017
New York City, NY, United States

La MaMa in New York City presented a performance of Don't Feed the Indians—A Divine Comedy Pageant livestreamed from CultureHub on the global, commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Sunday 12 November at 19:00 GMT (London) / 2 p.m. EST (New York) / 1 p.m. CST (Chicago) / 11 a.m. PST (Vancouver) / 10 a.m. AKST (Anchorage). In Twitter, use #howlround.

 

 

a performance of Ping Chong's ALAXSXA
Video

a performance of Ping Chong's ALAXSXA

Saturday 14 October 2017
New York, NY, United States

La MaMa Experimental Theater Club presented a performance of ALAXSXA, a production of Ping Chong + Company, livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer produced HowlRound.TV network on Saturday 14 October at 7:00 p.m. EDT (New York) / 6:00 p.m. CDT (Chicago) / 4:00 p.m. PDT (San Francisco).

Announcing the HowlRound Challenge Convenings
Essay

Announcing the HowlRound Challenge Convenings

4 October 2017

HowlRound announces the four selected convening proposals for the HowlRound Challenge, a new initiative to incubate ideas and seed action to make a better theatre and a better world.

The Breathing Hole and Inuit Cultural Dramaturgy
Essay

The Breathing Hole and Inuit Cultural Dramaturgy

22 September 2017

Canadian playwright Colleen Murphy writes about the importance of including Indigenous characters in plays and Indigenous artists in the process of making them.

Theatre History Podcast #46
Podcast

Theatre History Podcast #46

Reimagining Shakespeare’s Legacy with Madeline Sayet

14 September 2017

Madeline Sayet joins us to talk about how she's producing Shakespeare's work with Native American artists to place them in a new, more diverse context.

AsiaTOPA
Essay

AsiaTOPA

Redefining Performing Arts Festivals

30 August 2017

Ambassador Cynthia P. Schneider, who attended the AsiaTOPA Performance Festival in Australia, reflects how as the United States devalues diversity and imposes restrictions on immigration, Australia recognizes the value of its relationship with its Asian neighbors, and of its own diverse population.

Les Productions Ondinnok
Essay

Les Productions Ondinnok

On the Experience of Making Indigenous Theatre in Quebec, Canada / Les Productions Ondinnok: Sobre la Experiencia de Hacer Teatro Indígena en Quebec en Canadá

11 June 2017

In this installment, Choreographer Carlos Rivera talks about indigenous theatre in Quebec, highlighting the work of Yves Sioui Durand and Catherine Juntas of Les Productions Ondinnok.

The Native Language of Inclusion
Essay

The Native Language of Inclusion

An Interview with Ty Defoe

21 May 2017

Ryan Leeds interviews Ty Defoe about winning the Jonathan Larson Grant, his show Crane: On Earth, In Sky, and how his identity influences his work.

Finding a Rock and Gaining an Audience
Essay

Finding a Rock and Gaining an Audience

24 March 2017

Madeline Sayet reflects on her ancestor Sachem Mahomet Weyonomon, and advocates supporting Native stories and theatremakers.

Letters from Canadians to Americans
Essay

Letters from Canadians to Americans

Yvette Nolan

14 February 2017

In the first installment of this new series, a collaboration with Canada’s SpiderWebShow, Yvette Nolan ponders the porous boundary between the United States and Canada, and the importance of theatrical communication in difficult political times.

The Thanksgiving Play
Essay

The Thanksgiving Play

an interview with playwright Larissa FastHorse

23 November 2016

Dramaturg Deanie Vallone talks with playwright Larissa FastHorse about The Thanksgiving Play, writing a play with all white characters, and the obligation artists and institutions have to their area’s Indigenous community.

Getting Specific
Essay

Getting Specific

One Playwright’s Complicated Casting Choices

27 September 2016

Kicking off #IdentityWeek, Playwright Larissa FastHorse discusses workshopping her play What Would Crazy Horse Do? at Santa Clara University, and advocates the playwright’s voice in casting choices. 

Native Communities and Climate Change, Center Stage
Essay

Native Communities and Climate Change, Center Stage

19 September 2016

Playwright Jaisey Bates urges us to include Native communities and artists in the work to combat climate change and in the work we put on stage.

The 2016 TCG National Conference: Theatre Nation
Video

The 2016 TCG National Conference: Theatre Nation

Thursday 23 June to Saturday 25 June 2016
Washington, D.C., United States

Theatre Communications Group presented the 2016 TCG National Conference: Theatre Nation (ASL-interpreted) livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv Thursday 23 June to Saturday 25 June. Share your thoughts and media with hashtags #TCG16 and #howlround in all social media platforms. Follow @TCG and @HowlRoundTV in Twitter for updates.

Whose Story to Tell? Akron, Ohio Relates to the Indigenous Amazon
Essay

Whose Story to Tell? Akron, Ohio Relates to the Indigenous Amazon

7 June 2016

Amy Schwabauer on Death of a Man by Jairo Cuesta in Akron, Ohio.

Discussion: Arts/Culture: Social Justice and Social Change in relation to Indigenous Communities 
Video

Discussion: Arts/Culture: Social Justice and Social Change in relation to Indigenous Communities 

Safe Harbors Indigenous Arts/Theater Collective, La MaMa, and CultureHub

Wednesday 6 April 2016
New York, NY, United States

La MaMa in New York City presented Safe Harbors Indigenous Arts/Theater Collective at Culturehub's Arts/Culture: Social Justice and Social Change discussion livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Wednesday 6 April at 12:30 p.m.-5 p.m. EDT (New York) / 11:30 p.m.-4 p.m. CDT (Chicago) / 10:30 a.m.-3 p.m. MDT (Alberta) / 9:30 a.m.-2 p.m. PDT (Vancouver) / 8:30 a.m.-1 p.m. AKDT (Alaska) / 6:30 a.m.-11 a.m. HAST (Hawaii) / 16:30-21:00 GMT / 5:30 p.m.-10 p.m. BST (London) / 18:30-23:00 CEST (Brussels). On Twitter, use #howlround and follow @LaMamaETC@CultureHubNYC, and @HowlRoundTV

The Arizona Performing Arts Summit at Xico Arte Y Cultura
Video

The Arizona Performing Arts Summit at Xico Arte Y Cultura

Sunday 20 March 2016
Phoenix, AZ, United States

New England Foundation for the Arts and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, in association with the Tucson Pima Arts CouncilDNAWORKS, and the Performing Arts Department at the Institute of American Indian Arts presented the The Arizona Performing Arts Summit livestreamed from Xico Arte Y Cultura  in Phoenix on the global, commons-based peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Sunday 20 March at 12 p.m. PDT - 6 p.m. PDT (Los Angeles) / 1 p.m. MDT - 7 p.m. MDT (Denver) / 2 p.m. CDT - 8 p.m. CDT (Chicago) / 3 p.m. EDT - 9 p.m. EDT (New York) / 19:00 GMT - 01:00 GMT (London). In Twitter, use #howlround and follow @NEFA_Boston and @howlroundtv

Mourning Becomes Arctic Requiem
Essay

Mourning Becomes Arctic Requiem

The Story of Luke Cole and Kivalina

22 September 2015

Playwright Sharmon Hilfinger discusses how she developed Artic Requiem: The Story of Kivalina with composer Joan McMillen.

Performance of My Father’s Bones about Olympian Jim Thorpe
Video

Performance of My Father’s Bones about Olympian Jim Thorpe

Monday, June 29 2015
St. Paul, MN, United States

New Native Theatre presented a staged reading of My Father’s Bones in St. Paul, Minnesota, at the Mid-Year Conference of the National Congress of the American Indians. My Father’s Bones is a play by Suzan Shown Harjo and Mary Kathryn Nagle that recounts the struggle of Jack, Bill and Richard Thorpe to recover the remains of their father—the unmatched Olympian Jim Thorpe—so that he can buried with their relatives in Sac and Fox Nation land. The play was livestreamed on the global commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Monday, June 29 at 1:30 p.m. EDT (New York) / 12:30 p.m. CDT (Chicago) / 11:30 a.m. MDT (Denver) / 10:30 a.m. PDT (Vancouver). A talkback will follow.

Native Theatre in Oregon
Essay

Native Theatre in Oregon

26 June 2015

Waylon Lenk considers how the University of Oregon and Southern Oregon University are doing Native theatre and compares their models to his approach to organizing a reading series by Native authors at Oregon State University.

My Father’s Bones, a play by Suzan Shown Harjo and Mary Kathryn Nagle about Olympian Jim Thorpe
Video

My Father’s Bones, a play by Suzan Shown Harjo and Mary Kathryn Nagle about Olympian Jim Thorpe

3 June 2015
Oklahoma City, OK, United States

On June 3, 2015, the Native American Rights Fund presented a staged reading of My Father’s Bones in Oklahoma City, OK, a play by Suzan Shown Harjo and Mary Kathryn Nagle that recounts the struggle of Jack, Bill and Richard Thorpe to recover the remains of their father—the unmatched Olympian Jim Thorpe—so that he can buried with their relatives in Sac and Fox Nation land.

A Call for Solidarity: A Real-Time Networked Performance Linking Hawaii, Alaska, and NYC
Video

A Call for Solidarity: A Real-Time Networked Performance Linking Hawaii, Alaska, and NYC

Wednesday 15 April 2015
Alaska, Hawaii, & New York City; United States

A Call for Solidarity—a real-time networked performance linking Hawaii, Alaska, and New York City—livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Wednesday 15 April at 8 p.m. EDT (New York) / 7 p.m. CDT (Chicago) / 5 p.m. PDT (Los Angeles) / 4 p.m. AKDT (Alaska) / 2 p.m. HAST (Hawaii).

Sliver of a Full Moon, A Play About Justice for Native Women at Yale Law School
Video

Sliver of a Full Moon, A Play About Justice for Native Women at Yale Law School

Tuesday 31 March 2015
New Haven, CT, United States

Yale Law School presented a reading of Sliver of a Full Moon, the powerful play written by playwright Mary Kathryn Nagle, from the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, and Mohegan Director Madeline Sayet livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Tuesday 31 March at 6:30 p.m. EDT (New York) / 5:30 p.m. CDT (Chicago) / 4:30 p.m. MDT (Denver) / 3:30 p.m. PDT (Los Angeles) / 2:30 p.m. AKDT (Anchorage). 

Welcome to Mississippi
Essay

Welcome to Mississippi

17 March 2015

Carlton Turner's address on the state of the arts in Mississipi from the Mississipi Performing Arts Summit, held February 15-16, 2015 in Jackson, MS.

What Sort of Bridge Will You Build?
Essay

What Sort of Bridge Will You Build?

1 March 2015

In the last installation of the Native Voices series, Madeline Sayet explores how we can use story to build bridges between worlds.