A portion of the production’s cast.
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WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Kennedy Center’s Eisenhower Theater was sold out on Friday, July 1st for the We The Peoples Before stage production that drew a crowd of Native Americans from various parts of Indian Country as well as other attendees who sat for the two-hour long performance.
The First Peoples Fund, an organization that supports the collective spirit of Native Americans artists, hosted the event that brought more than 50 Native performers to the stage, including Joy Harjo (Muscogee Creek Nation), Supaman (Apsaalooke Nation), and Pura Fe Crescioni (Tuscarora/Taino).
“This location feels like the stars have aligned and here we are tonight. We are here to tell our story, as it should be told through our legs, from our hearts and from the place of resilience and love, the love for ancestral homelands and territories,” Lori Pouiri (Oglala Sioux Tribe), president of the First Peoples Fund, said during her opening remarks.
We The Peoples Before was billed as a collaboration in recognition of the rightful place of Native cultural practice as a central influence on the national landscape of arts and culture in the United States.
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