First Nations Studies

Events

“And So We Walked Together”

A Play Written and Performed by DeLanna Studi

The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay is pleased to announce programing to complement Cherokee actor and playwright DeLanna Studi’s critically acclaimed play, “And So We Walked: An Artist’s Journey Along the Trail of Tears.”  Complementary community engagement programming will explore the broad themes in the play and connect its stories to those of the Indigenous peoples’ who call Wisconsin home. 

Ms. Studi will perform “And So We Walked” at Fort Howard Hall at the Weidner Center, November 14-16, 2019.  The play itself weaves together many stories – the Cherokee people’s experience on the Trail of Tears, the artist’s personal journey on the Trail with her father from their family’s pre-Removal homestead in North Carolina to the contemporary Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma, and her efforts to shape the multitude of stories and experiences collected into a stage play.  A facilitated talk back session will follow each performance.   Please see http://www.weidnercenter.com/events/and-so-we-walked/.

Traditional storytelling techniques inform the research behind “And So We Walked” and the performance of the play itself.  DeLanna Studi’s research process involved exploring historical records and existing scholarship as well as sharing her families’ stories as she collected them from others.  This session will focus on traditional storytelling, including oral tradition as a way of knowing, as performance, and as a means of conveying individual and collective experiences.

“Indian Removal: Loss of Land, Loss of Lives,” will explores questions related to sense of “home” and relationship to place, individual and collective identity, relationships between past and present, and relationships between peoples.

While the Cherokee experience with the Trail of Tears, shared in “And So We Walked,” may be most familiar to the general public, it is far from the only one.  In the 19^th century, Native peoples experienced both removal to and removal from Wisconsin, a shared, tragic experience that resulted in loss of land and lives.  This workshop will feature multiple perspectives on multiple experiences with Removal, from Dr. Carol Cornelius (Oneida/Mohican/Montauk), who has extensively researched the removal of the New York Indians; Bill Quackenbush (Ho-Chunk), Tribal Historical Preservation Officer for the Ho-Chunk Nation; and DeLanna Studi (Cherokee), will discuss their Nations’ experiences with Indian Removal.  Dr. JP Leary will serve as host and moderator. 

Narrative history is well-suited to performance, and history-focused plays, pageants, and films continue to play a key role in shaping the popular understanding of major historical events.  While Hollywood often takes liberties with dramatic interpretations, good storytelling is not inherently at odds with sound historical research.  This session will focus on conducting historical research for a broad, public audience to be presented in narrative form as a play or film.  It may be of particular interest to social studies teachers involved with National History Day because Performance is one of the contest categories. Please preregister at: https://uwgreenbay.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3l3K5UjMwFJodYF 

The session will be led by an all-star group of presenters, including Jenny Kalvaitis (Wisconsin Historical Society), Deb Anderson (UWGB), Ryan Winn (College of Menominee Nation), Erin Patchak (Bay View Middle School), DeLanna Studi (actor/playwright), and Dr. J P Leary (UW-Green Bay).  They will discuss best practices, share examples from their own work, engage participants in hands-on activities working with archival materials and other primary sources to create short scenes.

Family history research is central to “And So We Walked” and is of widespread public interest. This session, led by Deb Anderson, Director of University Archives and the Area Research Center at UW- Green Bay, will be scheduled as a follow-up in spring 2020.  Ms. Anderson will highlight archival and other resources available in northeast Wisconsin on Native American family history, as well as resources digitally accessible.  This session is for those inspired to learn more about their own family history, beyond names and dates, and who want to tell their own stories.

And So We Walked:
An Artist’s Journey Along the Trail of Tears
Fort Howard Hall at the Weidner Center

• Thursday, Nov. 14  at 7:30 pm
• Friday. Nov. 15 at 7:30 pm
• Saturday, Nov. 16 at 2:00 pm and 7:30 pm

http://www.weidnercenter.com/events/and-so-we-walked/

For more information about this project, please contact Dr. J P Leary, Associate Professor of First Nations Studies, Humanities, and History, at learyj@uwgb.edu.

For more information about “And So We Walked,” please go to www.andsowewalked.com

This project is funded in part by a grant from the Wisconsin Humanities Council, with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this project do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities. The Wisconsin Humanities Council supports and creates programs that use history, culture, and discussion to strengthen community life for everyone in Wisconsin.

This project is funded in part by a grant from the Oneida Nation Arts Program, with funds from the Wisconsin Arts Board.