The Evolution of Indigenous Identity in Native Indian Drama: A Comparative Study of Cultural Representation from Metamora to The Thanksgiving Play

Authors

  • N. R. Gopal Associate Professor Department of English CUHP, Dharamshala, India.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.56062/

Keywords:

Indigenous Identity, Cultural Representation, Colonial Stereotypes, Native American Drama.

Abstract

This paper seeks to understand how Indigenous identity and representation have changed over time in Native American drama. For works historic and contemporary, the characters, themes, and cultural narratives present in plays written by and for Native peoples may provide insight into the social and political climates of the times when those plays were penned. The difference between the portrayal of Indigenous peoples in plays such as Metamora; or, The Last of the Wampanoags and the portrayal of Indigenous characters in plays like The Thanksgiving Play and Body Indian is striking and significant. Playwrights who have been part of the historic tribal memory of their peoples may serve as an Indigenous lifeline to live historical memory rather than politicized “wokeness,” which seems to be the societal expectation of plays these days.

References

Braunlich, Phyllis Cole. “The Oklahoma Plays of R. Lynn Riggs.” World Literature Today, vol. 64, no. 3, 1990, pp. 390–94. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/40146628.

COX, JAMES H., and ALEXANDER PETTIT. “The Practical Limits of Liberal Piety: Larissa FastHorse’s The Thanksgiving Play.” Studies in American Indian Literatures, vol. 32, no. 3/4, 2020, pp. 220–34. JSTOR, https://www.jstor.org/stable/27013435.

Grose, B. Donald. “Edwin Forrest, ‘Metamora’, and the Indian Removal Act of 1830.” Theatre Journal, vol. 37, no. 2, 1985, pp. 181–91. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/3207064.

Pulitano, Elvira, and William Yellow Robe. “Telling Stories Through the Stage: A Conversation with William Yellow Robe.” Studies in American Indian Literatures, vol. 10, no. 1, 1998, pp. 19–44. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/20739434.

Wilson, Norma. Studies in American Indian Literatures, vol. 7, no. 4, 1983, pp. 84–87. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/20739166.

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Published

2024-09-25

How to Cite

N. R. Gopal , translator. “The Evolution of Indigenous Identity in Native Indian Drama: A Comparative Study of Cultural Representation from Metamora to The Thanksgiving Play”. Creative Saplings, vol. 3, no. 9, Sept. 2024, pp. 41-53, https://doi.org/10.56062/.

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