The Lakota-language play, Iktómi Lečhála Tȟawíčutȟuŋ (Iktomi’s New Wife) has its premiere tonight at 7 pm at the Standing Rock High School Auditorium, 9819 Highway 24 in Fort Yates. Admission is FREE.
- Blaze Starkey and Peter Hill practice being Meadowlarks
It’s based on two Iktomi stories, one of which is well-known: “Iktomi’s Blanket.” That story was collected in Old Indian Legends by Zitkala-Ša, published in 1901.
Ben Black Bear, Jr. as Iktomi
The other is “Iktomi and the Ignorant Girl.” This was collected by Richard Erdoes and Alfonso Ortiz in the book American Indian Myths and Legends, published in 1984, and the story is recounted as one from the “Brule Sioux” people.
Tasha Hauff as Ignorant Girl and Ben Black Bear, Jr. as Iktomi.
Picture this: two oral-tradition stories were written down in English, then adapted in English to be one story for the theater. Then that story was translated into Lakota by the actors – and back into English for supertitles projected for the audience!
Director Steve Elm and Blaze Starkey
Iktómi Lečhála Tȟawíčutȟuŋ (Iktomi’s New Wife) has its first performance on Thursday night, June 19, at 7 pm, at the Standing Rock High School Auditorium: 9189 Highway 24, Fort Yates, ND, Standing Rock. The Director is Steve Elm (Oneida), a professional actor-writer-director based in New York and Virginia.
Admission is FREE, so come on down and bring your friends!
