Read: We Gathered and We Dreamed

This past Monday (6/15/26), the Native Theatre Movement hosted its first NDN Community Gathering to discuss dreams for the field, hopes for impact, and ideas for what the Movement can do for us all. While this gathering was a closed-community event, we offer big ideas, shared resources, and upcoming events to the field at large. 

Take these in. Know that there is so much more to come. 

NDN Community Gathering Group Photo

___________________________________

Dreams for the Field:

• Theatre as a tool and space for healing. Theatre should also be a space for healing for Indigenous incarcerated people and our youth.

• Narrative Sovereignty: telling Native stories on Native terms, without outside definition. Additionally, resisting deindividuation. Deindividuation is a psychological phenomenon where individuals in a group lose their sense of personal identity, self-awareness, and personal accountability. 
  

• Connecting Native youth across communities (urban, reservation, across borders) to develop and share their work

• Indigenous-specific drama therapy and theatre as ceremony/medicine

Building Our Own Infrastructure:

• Creating a Native theater circuit independent of Broadway/regional theater models while also increasing our access to existing theatrical systems

• Resource centers to catalog and share Native plays, musicals, and works

• Residency exchange programs within Native communities that are paid and housed

Publishing & Criticism:

• Anthologies and finding presses that respect Indigenous dramatic structures and voice

• Native artists writing criticism about Native work to bring nuance the mainstream lacks

• Accountability for institutions that promise Native programming but don't follow through

Training & Access:

• Self-tape workshops, acting training, and networking support to break down gatekeeping

• Fundraising to send young Indigenous artists to conferences, workshops, and training

• Bringing professional skills to Native performers without replicating the harm of Western MFA programs

Shared Resources:

• FOR NDNS: For Boston-area based Native artists looking to gather, check out the North American Indian Center of Boston http://www.naicob.org/

• FOR NDNS: Urban Indigenous Collective in NYC Two-Spirit Talking Circle (ages 18 - 24) https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdeorJd4M7jHKspBWvR6tumM54Jfkv0NrfIcEDYCY0r6POaPA/viewform

• FOR NDNS: Urban Indigenous Collective in NYC Survivors Circle (ages 18+) https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScGfQsbismxN4wL5nGZtiq04Tb_g1PfsgVYgC-RVVG_rZOTUg/viewform

• FOR ALLIES: An academic article on deindividuation: “Of Warrior Chiefs and Indian Princesses: The Psychological Consequences of American Indian Mascots” by Stephanie A. Fryberg https://dornsife.usc.edu/daphna-oyserman/wp-content/uploads/sites/232/2023/11/frybergmarkusoysermanstone2008.pdf

• FOR ALL: The Methuen Drama Anthology of Native American Plays edited by Courtney Elkin Mohler and Christy Stanlake https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/methuen-drama-anthology-of-native-american-plays-9781350514539/

• FOR ALL: A directory of Native artists: https://nativetheatreartists.com/

Upcoming NDN Community Events:

July 1, 2026 

What: A reading of the play, The Festival of the Young Corn, or, the Heroism of Poucha-Houmma

Where: Nanih Bvlbancha, 1900 Lafitte Ave, "New Orleans", Bulbancha, "Louisiana"

When: Before dawn until a little after the sun rises

For: Everyone

More Information: https://www.bvlbanchapublicaccess.com/projects/poucha-houmma-revival

August 7 - August 9, 2026

What: National Native Theatre Convening

Where: Portland, OR

For: Native theatre artists 

More Information: https://www.nativeperformingarts.org/national-convening-for-native-theater-artists

August 8 - August 30, 2026

What: World Premiere of Bad Medicine by PC Verrone

Where: Santa Fe Playhouse, 142 East De Vargas Street Santa Fe, NM 87501

For: Everyone

More Information: https://santafeplayhouse.org/events/bad-medicine/