Longest-Running Native Theater Group Visits Perpich Arts High School
A historic Native feminist theater group made a stop at Perpich Center for Arts Education in Golden Valley this week.
Members of New York-based Spiderwoman Theater were there not to perform, but to share their perspective.
The company was founded by Gloria Miguel, Muriel Miguel and the late Lisa Mayo in 1975.
The group practices “story-weaving,” where they combine a number of stories together and build narratives around them. Those stories stem from everywhere, including in both contemporary and ancient Native oral history.
“That is what I think about all the time. The impact to young ones,” Muriel Miguel said. “And someone looks at me and gets the idea that they (can do it). The big light goes up.”
Theater Educator Stephanie Lein Walseth knew when the theater group announced its tour, she had to have them come to Perpich.
“I think it is so important for students of color and for Indigenous students to be able to see these amazing leaders, to know that people have been doing this work for centuries,” Lein Walseth said.
Muriel Miguel speaks to the audience alongside her sister, Gloria Miguel, and performer Imelda Villalon.
Spiderwoman is the oldest, continually-running native feminist theater company in the Americas. On stage, 97-year-old Gloria Miguel explained to the crowd of Perpich students and art enthusiasts the power of telling stories.
“There’s so much to talk about, so much life going on. And we used it all, you know. My father’s background, my mother’s background, and our background. There’s so many great stories in it,” Gloria said. “And it’s life, and I’m still learning! I’m 97 years old, and I’m still on stage, still learning.”
Lein Walseth said Spiderwoman’s way of storytelling is a special lesson for those in the audience.
“There is dance, there is music, there is visual art, there is storytelling and it’s all woven together,” Lein Walseth said. “That is also, I think, reflective of indigenous artistic and cultural practice. Those things work in conjunction; they’re not siloed in the way we often think about them.”
The group is also no stranger to pushing boundaries. Back in 1976, the group debuted with “Women in Violence,” where Muriel said it shined a light on abuse head-on.
“Putting a light on things that have happened, and everyone’s ignoring. Can’t do that anymore,” Muriel Miguel said.
The company is still telling stories today with its latest project “Misdemeanor Dream.” Muriel said it’s a Shakespeare reinterpretation, created with a cast of characters collected from across the country.
