Barona Band of Mission Indians tribe member Kenny Ramos is in the touring cast
Kenny Ramos, a member of the Barona Band of Mission Indians in Lakeside, stars as Acoma, top left, in a scene from the national touring production of “Peter Pan” at the San Diego Civic Theatre Tuesday through Aug. 4. The Native American stereotypes that permeate “Peter Pan” almost drove Kenny Ramos away from a career in an art form he loves.
Ramos has originating the role of a character named Acoma, a member of Tiger Lily’s tribe — a role added by Larissa FastHorse, the Native American playwright tasked with revising the script. Even then, the casual denigration of Native American characters who were depicted in the script as playing tom-toms, holding powwows and speaking in pidgin English raised eyebrows.
“There is no explanation in the original script as to why everybody was trying to kill the Indians,” said FastHorse, a member of the Sicangu Lakota nation. “The assumption was that if Indians were there, of course you should try to kill them.” But so far, no one has successfully figured out how to salvage what is magical about the musical while removing all vestiges of racism.
“‘Peter Pan’ is very likely the first musical that many children will attend,” Price said. “We want them all to be able to see themselves in the world we create on stage so that they fall in love with theater and grow up to bring their children and grandchildren.” There’s also a practical reason for broadening the backgrounds of Tiger Lily’s tribe; FastHorse hopes the production will have a life after the national tour.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
‘Peter and the Starcatcher’ tells the story before ‘Peter Pan’“Peter and the Starcatcher” will be performed July 24-Sept. 1 at the Paramount’s Copley Theare in Aurora.
Read more »
Peter Pan Diner, a Bay Shore staple, damaged in overnight fireOfficials say the fire started mainly in the kitchen at the location on Sunrise Highway around 1:40 a.m.
Read more »
‘Devastating' fire damages beloved Peter Pan Diner on Long Island, owner vows to rebuildOutside the beloved Peter Pan diner in Bay Shore, there were lots of tears Tuesday. The popular diner, which opened in 1955 and has been run by the Lentzeres…
Read more »
College applications are daunting. This program is preparing Native high school students for successCollege Horizons, a program to prepare Native American, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian students to apply to college, wrapped up at Penn this week.
Read more »
Native American tribe in North Dakota goes back to its roots with a massive greenhouse operationA Native American tribe in North Dakota will soon grow lettuce in a giant greenhouse complex that when fully completed will be among the country's largest, enabling the tribe to grow much of its own food decades after a federal dam flooded the land where they had cultivated corn, beans and other crops for millennia.
Read more »
North Dakota tribe goes back to its roots with a massive greenhouse operationA Native American tribe in North Dakota is planning a sprawling greenhouse complex on its reservation
Read more »