photo by: Bremen Keasey

The Haskell Auditorium at Haskell Indian Nations University. A staged reading of "Shawnee Living History Tour” will be put on by Haskell students on Saturday as part of a variety of events hosted by the Haskell Foundation that day.

An American Indian-led performing arts group is partnering with the Haskell Foundation and Haskell Indian Nations University students for a day of events on Saturday that includes a reading of a play and a stomp dance.

The Haskell Foundation and Caesar’s Ford Theatre, a nonprofit based in Ohio with the goal of improving American Indian historical drama and pushing for better depictions and understanding of American Indians, are collaborating to present a staged reading of “Shawnee Living History Tour.”

Kane Stratton, a playwright and projects manager with Caesar’s Ford Theatre, said Haskell students will be performing a reading of the play he wrote, with Ben Furnish, a theater professor at Haskell, directing.

Stratton said the play is set in 1778 during the American Revolution in Ohio and deals with the period of ethnic cleansing of the Shawnee Tribe that was going on at the time. Stratton said the play touches on aspects of education and drama, and he thinks the juxtaposition of the timing poses a question to the audience. During the American Revolution, the states were “fighting to become a nation,” but at the same time, that expansion was coming at the expense of American Indians like the Shawnee. Stratton thinks it asks revealing questions by telling another side of the story.

“It questions what is the cost of freedom,” Stratton said. “What does it cost somebody else for you to be free?”

The actors will be wearing period clothing to showcase the “living history,” Stratton said. Some of the script is in the Shawnee language, adding a level of authenticity that Stratton said his production group “really hang(s) our hats on.”

Stratton said he is excited to see how the performance goes and to build a relationship between his performing organization and Haskell. He said it is important to have more performances and representation of American Indians to chip away at people’s preconceptions of American Indian culture.

“It’s important to get more American Indian actors involved and get them in front of audiences who don’t typically have those experiences,” Stratton said.

The performance will take place at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Haskell Auditorium, 155 E. Indian Ave. Stratton said the play will be about an hour long and there will be a question and answer session after the performance.

Along with the performance, the Haskell Foundation is hosting two other events on Saturday. There will be a free dinner for Haskell students at Stidham Union from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., and a stomp dance performed by 17 dancers from Oklahoma. That event will be from 8 to 10 p.m. at a fire circle west of the Haskell Auditorium.

photo by: Contributed

Flyer with the details of the events at Haskell hosted by the Haskell Foundation Saturday, included a performance of a staged reading by Haskell students of a play called “Shawnee Living History Tour.”