Native Nation Project
Subtitle
A Trilogy
This three-play collection celebrates the vibrancy and vitality of modern Indigenous culture and draw attention to complex issues within the contemporary Native experience.
This latest volume from the acclaimed author of "The Thanksgiving Play" collects a trilogy of plays co-created with Cornerstone Theater Company as well as urban Native artists and culture bearers.
In "Urban Rez," five interconnected stories depict members of a Native tribe in Los Angeles weighing the pros and cons of federal recognition.
Developed through talking circles with Indigenous peoples of Arizona, "Native Nation" is an immersive theatrical production that seeks to combat the erasure of Native people from wider American culture by telling the story of the land through the eyes of its original people.
Created with people of the Lakota and Dakota tribal nations, "Wicoun" centers on Áya and their brother Khoskalaka, who are already busy enough raising cousins and siblings while trying to graduate high school. Then the zombies arrive. When Áya summons a native superhero for help, they set off on a journey across the lands of the Oceti Sakowin.
Together, these plays explore a wide range of urgent issues that continue to affect Indigenous communities today, including assimilation, two-spirit identity, food equity, water rights, tribal sovereignty, broken treaties, genocide, and violation of sacred lands. They also celebrate a rich history and essential culture, telling stories by and for Native people.
Bio
Larissa FastHorse is a professor of practice in English at ASU, where she is an affiliate of the Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies.
Michael John Garcés is a professor of practice in English at ASU, where he is an affiliate of the Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies.
Praise for this book
'Urban Rez,' 'Native Nation,' and '[Wicoun]' are designed to be what FastHorse calls ‘intentionally incompatible experiences’ for non-Indigenous people. While she isn’t actually trying to alienate white theatregoers, the trilogy’s narratives avoid any pretense that they need or want a non-Indian stamp of approval. Instead, said FastHorse, these works are created by and for Indigenous people as a way for them to tell their stories the way they want them told.
American Theatre
