Cherokee Art Market - Native American Times

14 NATIVE OKLAHOMA • OCTOBER 2013NATIVE OKLAHOMA • OCTOBER 2013 15R RArigon StarrJust as troubling, among Native womenwho were raped or sexually assaultedbetween 1992-2005, about 67 percent ofvictims described their offenders as non-Native.The reauthorization of VAWA wasimportant to all women as it expandedits provisions to include protections formore than just Native Americans, but inIndian Country its impact was felt all theway back to Columbus’ arrival.“I think this entire country mostly ispretty ignorant when it comes to Indianlaw,” said the play’s author, Mary KathrynNagle, Cherokee. “All you have to dois listen to a Supreme Court argumentand listen to the questions the justicesare asking. You can figure out prettyquickly that a lot of them don’t have a lotof knowledge for the legal existence ofsovereign Indian tribes before 1492 andeven how those tribes interacted in thatsovereign-to-sovereign relationship withthe U.S. after 1492.”“Sliver of a Full Moon” looks at tribalauthority in the context of VAWA at theOklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame, 111 E. FirstSt., Tulsa. The evening begins at 6 p.m.with an opening reception followed by alantern ceremony at 7 p.m. The play startsat 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $10, available atwww.myticketoffice.com.Directed by playwright Carolyn Dunn(Muscogee, Cherokee), the play willbe presented during the 70th NationalCongress of American Indians AnnualArigon Starr andMary KathrynNagle present“Sliver of a FullMoon” to raiseawarenessof the rate ofviolence againstNative women.Convention, which takes place Oct.13-18 at the Hard Rock Tulsa Hotel &Casino, as tribal government and leadersgather to examine issues pressing toNative people.VAWA is one of the first topics fordiscussion.The act was first signed into legislationby President Bill Clinton in September1994. It has been reauthorized threetimes, most recently in March when it wassigned by President Barack Obama. Themost recent measure added protectionsfor women in same-sex relationshipsand undocumented immigrants. It alsoallows tribal courts to prosecute non-Natives accused of rape and domesticviolence against Native Americanwomen, loosening the grip of a 1978U.S. Supreme Court decision barringtribal courts from trying non-Nativesfor criminal offenses committed againstNative citizens on Native lands.Passage set a new marker for tribalsovereignty, but it almost didn’t happen.The measure had opposition in the U.S.House that did not want to add theseprovisions. It wasn’t until Februarythat the act was reconciled betweenboth houses of Congress with the newprovisions intact. The VAWA goes intoeffect on March 7, 2015.“Sliver of a Full Moon,” whichpremiered in June during the WomenAre Sacred Conference in Albuquerque,N.M., breaks down the months ofMary Kathryn Naglelobbying and piles of legal precedencethat it took to reach passage.“That stuff ’s pretty dry, and to crafta drama around that really does take alot of skill, and I think that’s somethingyou’re going to see on stage … I definitelyapplaud her skill,” Starr said.Nagle, an attorney and playwright inNew York City and honorary member ofthe Ponca Tribe of Nebraska, said manypeople were involved in the effort, buther play focuses on the stories of fiveNative women and two Native men onthe frontlines. Blending monologueswith scenes, the play’s structure is similarto Moises Kaufman’s “The LaramieProject” and Eve Ensler’s “The VaginaMonologues” – both plays commentingon social issues and directly addressingthe audience to the max.Nagle, who has six full-length playsto her credit, has written several worksat the juncture of Native Americansovereignty and U.S. law.“What makes the play compelling iswhat made the movement compelling,and it’s these women’s stories,” Naglesaid. “No one really understood whythis act is necessary until they heardDiane Millich’s story, until they heardDeb Parker’s story, ‘til they hear LisaBrunner’s story.”Milich (Southern Ute), Lisa Brunner(White Earth Ojibwe) and Billie JoRich (Eastern Band of Cherokee) playthemselves in “Sliver of a Full Moon”and share their experiencesand fight for justice. OklahomaNative actors Kimberly Guerrero(Cherokee), Darryl Tonemah(Kiowa, Comanche, Tuscarora),Lily Gladstone (Blackfeet, NezPerce) and Starr complete the cast.Tonemah portrays U.S. Rep. TomCole of Oklahoma. Gladstone,who has just completed filmingthe feature “Winter in the Blood”with Chaske Spencer (“Twilight”),portrays Deborah Parker, vicechair of the Tulalip Tribes Board ofDirectors in Washington. Guerro(“The Cherokee Word for Water”and the Broadway run of “August:Osage County”) portrays TerriHenry, Eastern Band of Cherokeecouncilwoman.Starr, who plays several roles,said Nagle has made the trials ofVAWA understandable.“It (the act) helped solidifysovereignty,” Starr says.” That’s oneof the things that’s always going tobe important to me.”Although she began writing theplay when the act’s future was indoubt, Nagle says it was necessaryto show the public why thelegislation is significant to Indiancommunities on an individual andtribal level. It still is. “For everywoman that stands and shares herstory,” she says, “there are hundredsof others.”“Sliver of a Full Moon” looks attribal authority in the context ofVAWA at the Oklahoma Jazz Hallof Fame, 111 E. First St., Tulsa.The evening begins at 6 p.m. withan opening reception followed by alantern ceremony at 7 p.m. The playstarts at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $10,available at www.myticketoffice.com.New Release by Award-Winning AuthorRobert J. ConleyA three-time Spur Award winner, Robert J. Conley bases his new book on the classic Russian novel BrothersKaramazov. Half Cherokee and Civil War veteran Captain Skylar Garret returns to the home of Phillip Garret, hiswhite father, seeking an inheritance that he believes to have belonged to his late mother. Intertwined now intothe lives of his three half brothers – one a vocal atheist, one an aspiring minister, and the other a black slaveboy who Phillip Garret doesn’t claim – Skylar finds himself in more than a quarrel for money, but also in themiddle of a love triangle with his own father, and ultimately on trial for patricide. Will Skylar Garret be the nexthanging from Judge Parker’s court?THE BROTHERS | AVAILABLE IN HARDCOVER AND EBOOK OCTOBER 13, 2013