An excerpt from "WagonBurner Theater Troop: An Evolving Indian Theater Experience"

By WagonBurner Theater Troop

Introduction by LeAnne Howe
With contributions by the Jodi Byrd, Claire Cardwell, Justin Data, Ken McCullough of the Wagon Burner Theater Troop

LeAnne Howe (as herself), July 2002:

Out of the experience of Indian artists and activists coming together to work on Indian Radio Days, WagonBurner Theater Troop (WTT) was born in 1993. Indian Radio Days was a play that the late Roxy Gordon and I wrote in the summer of 1988. WTT began to perform the play, but its members also begin writing new scenes for the play, improvising and in a way, creating a new Indian Radio Days with each and every performance. This is what I like to think of as "Tribalography." American Indian playwrights, actors, storytellers create stories form the experiences of our people, and ourselves. In that sense, our work belongs to the ancestors, ourselves, and the next seven generations. WTT was, and continues to be a community of Indian artists and Indian activists who enjoy working together, mentoring younger Indians, and, who merge art and activism as a teaching tool for Indians and non-Indians. Performance and dramatic acts abound in American Indian tribal cultures. In the Southeast, storytellers were performers. But so were Lakota warriors. Lakota scholar Craig Howe has shown how Counting Coup is dramatic reenactment, a performance of wills many tribes on the Great Plains participated in. Anthropologist Harvey Markowitz has pointed out that Winter Counts, things told, is a Lakota performance involving pictures and words. English professor Dean Rader has said in his forthcoming book "Speak to the Words," co-authored with Janice Gould, that Native poets in the Southwest conflate poetry, prayer, song and ritual into one powerful poetic moment that enacts language. In other words performance.

Another example I can think of comes from the Choctaw anolis who would perform a story for an audience, and eventually call on their audiences to interact or become part of the performance. As Cyrus Byington, Missionary to the Choctaws, from 1820- 1865, wrote:

"There was a well-known, solemn style appropriate to all speeches delivered in public (by captains, councilors and chiefs. It abounded in serious words, called by some, ‘speech-terms.’ One part of a sentence was nicely balanced by another. It was poetic in style and manner of delivery. At the close, that orator would invite the people to listen to him, and to consider what he had said. ‘Nanta hocha,’ ‘What is it?’ Or ‘Nana Hona,’ ‘Something,’ [the audience would respond]. Pausing a moment, the audience would give loud responses of, ‘Yummah’ ‘That is it’; ‘Alhpesah,’ ‘It is right.’ They would repeat this four times, and thus preparation was made for the announcement of the main subject. While speaking they [the orators] rarely looked anyone in the face."

What I think Cyrus Byington is trying to describe is a kind of interactive theater performance in which the Choctaw anoli or teller cues the audience to recollect certain events, and the mood the event evokes. This is called foreshadowing in playwriting. Foreshadowing is a classic storytelling device that creates suspense by alerting the audience to expect that a certain kind of story is coming. The events that followed worked on the performer and audience to create a kind of cultural glue that binds a culture. Today in Choctaw Country, (Durant, Oklahoma) I’ve worked with high-school Native playwrights and performers, who interactively engage their audiences in much the same way traditional anolis did. They worked together to write their plays, then collectively directed their performance, then engaged their audiences during the performance.

Wagonburner Theater Troop called on all these same traditional life ways to perform. We came together to tell stories, engage an audience, and interact with them and each other. I believe Wagonburner Theater Troop’s experiences inform the "American Indian never-ending-story." This may seem a tall order, but given the remarkable circumstances that American Indians have found themselves in over the last 510 years, nothing is impossible. Look for us. We’re coming to your theaters soon!

Some Remarks from Wagonburner Theater Troop Members:

Ken McCullough (himself), July 2002:

For me, personally, there's no point in trying to identify a favorite part of IRD ["Indian Radio Days"], since there are so many excellent moments – from the commercials, to the "Bingo Lady," to Joseph Flaming Attire, to Kevin Kostner in "Son of Dances with Wolves," to the serious historical vignettes. To a large extent, the success of these bits is tied, in my memory, to what the actors brought to them. For example; Steve Thunder McGuire does a perfect parody of the real Costner.

So I'm going to address my specific remarks to a segment on which I collaborated; namely, the interview of Claudine Levi-Ecofemme by a nameless host, who is meant to be a parody of William F. Buckley. On his show "Firing Line" (here it's "Firing Blanks" – referring to the impotence of the interviewer's remarks as well as to the U.S. Cavalry), Buckley, the ultimate conservative WASP, made a habit of trying to snow his guests, particularly if they represented a minority, by using elaborate Latinate phrases, and name-dropping. I worked with South Carolina Educational Television, which produced "Firing Line," so I had first-hand opportunity to see Buckley in action. He also had the characteristic of being almost reptilian when he sensed a weakness in a guest – you could see him eyeing his or her jugular. Having spent four years at an eastern prep school as a "scholarship student," I'd developed a serious aversion toward elitism of the Buckley ilk.

Jodi Byrd (my collaborator) and I thought it would be amusing to pit this Buckley clone against an Indian ecofeminist, who would counter his line of B.S. with a line of ecofeminist jargon. I had been on the fringe of the academic world for some years, and Jodi was in the midst of it, being a graduate student at the University of Iowa, and both of us had acquired a healthy disdain for both academic jargon and Bucklian babble. Both characters spin out of control and are revealed to be charlatans, to some extent, though the interviewer to a greater degree. It was fun developing this bit because the dynamic in the repartee was slightly different from the rest of IRD, though it still used the interviewer-interviewee format. And it temporarily shifted IRD into an egghead mode. These two characters more closely resemble the parodies in Vizenor's "The Last Lecture on the Edge," though Vizenor himself has come under fire as being a self-parody, in that he talks the talk but doesn't walk the walk. Like other academics, he knows the material but isn't engaged in the life. We can see that Claudine Levi-Ecofemme might be headed in that direction.

Claire Cardwell (herself), July 2002:

My fav scenes!

Female Announcer:

(Hit bell)

You're listening to AIR's production of Indian Radio Days. The time is now 29 minutes past the hour. Coming up next hour is The invasion of the English, French and the Germans.

Audio Direction:

FADE OUT "INDIAN OCEAN"

Narrator:

I'm now standing on a rock. I dare say it could be the Plymouth rock from all appearances. Who are you, sir?

Indian Chief Who Met The Mayflower:

(Cup your hands together like you are hollering at a boat way in the distance.)

No! No! NO!!!!!! We've got to send you back! It would only encourage others like yourself to attempt this dangerous and foolhardy trip across the ocean in these flimsy boats. Besides we don't have the room. And who knows what will happen next? You may try and take our jobs, and drive the price of corn to an all--time low. No, No No. You must go back!"

Narrator:

Who are you People?

Indian Chief Who Met The Mayflower:

I'm one of the Indians who met The Mayflower.

Audience Direction:

Boo & Hiss

Narrator:

So it's untrue that you welcomed these poor English prisoners and debtors with open arms to the New World for an American Thanksgiving Dinner?

Indian Chief Who Met The Mayflower:

What do your think, fellow?

Narrator:

Well, this is not what we're taught in the history books, so I didn't know.

Indian Chief Who Met The Mayflower:

Fellow do you mean history books or dime novels?

(Turn to the Audience and holler again.)

No. No. Go back. That's right. I'm afraid you cannot stay. I'm sure Captains Pete Wilson, Rush Limbaugh and Newt Gingrich will understand.

Narrator:

I am in the final battle of the Mousse-Argonne French Campaign, 1918, during World War I. I am talking with Simone Anolitubby; another Choctaw from Oklahoma. She is a soldier in the United States Army. How did you get here, soldier?

Anolitubby:

I enlisted, SIR.

Narrator:

What's an Indian doing here?

Anolitubby:

I am a good American. I fly the American Flag. I am a code talker, SIR.

Narrator:

A code talker? What is a code talker?

Anolitubby:

One day, a Captain John Smith, our commander happened to over hear us conversing in our language. He said, "Corporal, how many of you Choctaw do we have in this battalion?" I said, "We have eight who can speak Choctaw fluently, SIR." So he said, "Round'em up on the double. We're gonna get these Krauts off our backs."

Narrator:

What happened?

Anolitubby:

We translated messages and handled telephone calls from the field. The German code experts were flippin' their wigs tryin' to break the new American code. Within 24 hours after our language was pressed into service, the tide of battle had turned. The Allies were on full attack. We were praised by our company commanders and told we'd all get medals.

Narrator:

When did you boys receive them?

Audio Direction:

FADE OUT WW2

Anolitubby:

We never did. Turns out the government didn't think we were U.S. citizens, 'cause we are Indians. The Navajo or the Hopi Boys didn't receive any medals for code talking either.

Stage Direction: Simone Anolitubby salutes the audience after her soliloquy. Five seconds.

Claire Cardwell (herself):

In the educational system in the United States, the landing of the Mayflower is taught as one of the most important days in the U.S. history. In WTT’s parody of that event, the Indian Chief Who Met The Mayflower, we wanted to show how the dominate culture has written this event to be such a wonderful experience but never does teach Americans how this event affected Native people. No one ever learns that this contact (was it really welcomed?) had a devastating impact the on the communities and even led to some becoming extinct. The Indian Chief Who Met the Mayflower, which Wagonburner members performed ,also makes references to the fact that the English who came here were individuals who no one else wanted.

About Princess Wanna Buck:

This scene shows how everyone has made money off the Native culture. In most cases the dominate culture is the one to make the money off our images – not the Native communities. The New Age movement in all parts of the world seems to trivialize the Native culture without having a true in-depth understanding and appreciation for the culture. The scene is written in a very "tongue in cheek" manner, which is very funny onstage.

Jodi Byrd (herself), June 26, 2002:

On "Indian Radio Days" – LeAnne Howe asked members of WagonBurner Theater Troop to write up a little something about our favorite scenes from "Indian Radio Days." I'm not quite sure how to choose, so perhaps a better way to respond to the request is to note all the ways this play is still evolving and still addressing Indian Country and our realities with humor and insight. As I write this during the summer of 2002, I am reading the news and am struck by the degree to which native peoples are still so invisible to the dominant society and its media. Once again as the nation's eyes and media turns their attention towards whatever "national tragedy" they are choosing to focus on this week, they can't even see the forest for the trees, so to speak. And so, even as cameras and reporters descend on towns in Arizona to await the blaze that may or may not obliterate the homes of non-Native people, they don't even see the degree to which these fires are blazing through Apache land or the degree to which local complaints about the Apache nation burning off the underbrush contributed to the fire that is now out of control. It reminds me of a scene from "Indian Radio Days" where an Ojibway man describes a fire that started from a paper mill logging train:

Audio Direction:

FADE UP "WINNEBAGO"

Narrator:

I'm am standing in the remains of Cloquet, Minnesota. It is the day after Columbus Day, October 1918. The town and approximately one million acres of the surrounding area have been burned to ash. Sitting on a stump in front of me is an Ojibway man smoking a cigarette. Sir, can you tell us what has happened here?

Ojibway Indian:

We had a big cookout to celebrate Columbus Day.

Narrator (shocked):

You call this a cook-out?

Ojibway Indian:

Just kidding. (Takes a drag, exhales) Naw, what really happened is a spark from the paper mill logging train started it. You see, before trees turned a profit, us Indians used to burn the undergrowth every year. In some places it made it easier to hunt. Other places it got rid of the bad brush. Let the tall stuff grow better. But seeing as how we got pushed off the land, and no one's been taking care of it. . . . and Kaboom!"

Audience Directions:

Whoop and Holler

Jodi Byrd (herself):

A lot of the scenes from the play still resonate like that for me, and sometimes I think many of these characters from the play like to walk around my head and inject their sharp and occasionally critical observations about the world around us. I mean, what would Jim Montgomery have to say about the state of the Middle East right now? I shudder to think...

I particularly liked the full-out raucous and sometimes down-right nasty humor of the commercials that underscored some of the more serious moments in the play, from the Cheap Brand Cherokee (now Claire, I'm not naming names) to the Big Chief Condoms with Justin in a headdress and armed with a bow and condom. LeAnne does an incredible job hitting home the historical realities even as she deals with all the stereotypes that Indian people still encounter today. I guess if I was pushed, I'd have to say that what appeals to me most about the play, and what I still appreciate about it and LeAnne's work is the willingness not to pull punches, to laugh at everyone and encourage us actors to make fun of ourselves and our experiences as much as we'd laugh at the audience and their expectations.

For me, the best part of doing time with the rest of the WagonBurners was that, for those hours we were rehearsing and on stage performing, I was surrounded by a community of people who shared the same sense of humor, and the same sense of how important it is to capture the perspectives and voices that exist in Indian Country. For a bit of time at any rate, I could forget that I was in Iowa and surrounded primarily by non-Indians. It strengthened my sense of identity and community and for that reason alone, I'll always be glad that I had the opportunity to be a part of the WagonBurner Theater Troop.

Justin Data (himself):

Of course my all time favorite is:

Comanche Indian:

(Loudly with terror)

I eat white people for breakfast! I am KO-MAN-CHE!

Another favorite:

AIR is also sponsored by Cheap Cherokee. Nothing runs farther and faster On the road and it won't die on the trail

One more:

Get off your butts and work off white guilt, as well as build muscles with Jane Fonda's Indian workout special

And the grand finale!:

Narrator:

Ah, I'm standing here on Mars, the so-called Red Planet with Harvey Little Green Man. Harvey is a biotechnician for the Indians in Space Project. Tell me Harvey, how could you Indians, who were once the poorest peoeple in the United States, finance this off-world operation?

Harvey Little Green Man:

BINGO.

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