This dissertation interrogates obscured Indigenous identities by way of an original dramatic script that employs story-telling as an inherent cultural device that sustains a sense of peoplehood. In an art-based inquiry, I use Gerald Vizenor's notion of "postindian" to respond to the ways in which postindian identities establish "survivance"; that is, how the presence, resistance and endurance of Indigenous lives challenge simulations. Native histories in the shadow of dominance can be reimagined through cultural acts of resilience that overcome internalized oppressions or what Augusto Boal referred to as the "cop in the head". Reproductions of the image of oppressor are too often constructed in the image of self that prevents authentic being. The script demonstrates the criticality of authoring a counter-narrative that celebrates Indigenous history remembered and survived. Through Indigenous values of relationality and responsibility, it offers an unfinished third act of the play. The final act confers agency upon a future community audience to engage in an interactive style of participation known as Theater of the Oppressed to explore various resolutions.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:arizona.edu/oai:arizona.openrepository.com:10150/621740 |
| Date | January 2016 |
| Creators | Rocha, Sheila Ann, Rocha, Sheila Ann |
| Contributors | Gonzáles, Patricia, Gonzáles, Patricia, Evers, Lawrence, Baca, Damián P. |
| Publisher | The University of Arizona. |
| Source Sets | University of Arizona |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text, Electronic Dissertation |
| Rights | Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. |
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