Yana Wana's Legend of the Bluebonnet: Decolonizing Stories and the Processes of Storytelling in Educational Theater

• In Event: Decolonizing Water Pedagogies: Centering Indigenous Knowledges in Educational Approaches to Climate Catastrophe

Abstract

Objectives
Indigenous appropriation in the US is a well-established practice, rooting from colonization in the 15th century, and enduring and tightening its grip as the country as a whole becomes increasingly more centered on the material and the individual. Appropriation of culture and spirituality is well documented (Riley, 2016) and in the last decade several Indigenous groups have articulated grievances for such losses. Tomie dePaola’s (1983) The Legend of the Bluebonnet, is a popular title in elementary classrooms and libraries across the country. It is often shared with students around Native American Heritage month. Few other Indigenous books for that age group have gained any popularity in the US education sector at all (Chaudhri & Schau, 2016). However, the authors of this paper contend that the book offers several inaccuracies and that its author practices cultural tourism and appropriation in this and much of his other work. As authors of this paper as well as the playwrights of Yana Wana’s Legend of the Bluebonnet, we have long felt that a counter narrative, one that looks to an Indigenous telling of the story of a young girl who leads her people to water, is necessary and overdue. Our theatrical work (as well as our criticism of the original book) is our response. Written for youth aged 9-13 years of age, the play premiered at Dallas Children’s Theatre in 2018 and will experience its second production October of this year, produced by Teatro Vivo and the Indigenous Cultures Institute with an all-Indigenous cast and crew. Researchers are currently documenting the process as the producers intentionally craft and foster non-Western, decolonizing theatre education for young people.

Perspective(s) or theoretical framework
Yana Wana herself and the sacred land around her in San Marcos, Texas have been historically and are currently being appropriated by non-Indigenous people (Indigenous Cultures Institute, 2019). This paper examines the goals and efficacy of Yana Wana’s Legend of the Bluebonnet, examining the written script, the play in production, and audience impact. Melding prior theoretical offerings around Indigenous cultural appropriation (Riley, 2016), audience reception theory (Bennett 1997), Indigenous education theory (Valenzuela, 2017), the paper inquires into the primary goal of the project, which is to teach young people about the importance of Yana Wana as well as recognizing and nurturing their own Indigenous identity.

Modes of Inquiry
Researchers employ several research methods throughout this process. Through examining recorded rehearsal sessions, they document the decolonial processes of the Yana Wana rehearsal room in the Austin production. Surveys with cast, crew and audience members (including youth, teachers and families), examine the experience of performing and watching the play. Empirical evidence as well as theoretical underpinnings enable the authors to explore the objectives and impact of the play in its context.

Scholarly Significance
This research builds on existing examinations of colonized processes in educational and art-making spaces. As the play is one of the first Indigenous works for children presented in Austin, the data collected is critical documentation of acknowledging and dismantling colonized US playwriting and production processes.

Authors

• Maria Rocha

• Roxanne Schroeder-Arce, The University of Texas at Austin