New Native Theatre’s 15th Year & REAL ID

Transcript

[sound element: Minnesota Native News intro theme music]

Anchor Marie Rock: This is Minnesota Native News, I'm Marie Rock. With the REAL ID travel deadline approaching, many Indigenous people face especially complicated barriers. Then, New Native Theatre's latest play opens at the Gremlin Theatre on April 16th.

First, reporter Emma Needham has the story on how REAL ID impacts Indigenous persons, especially Two Spirit relatives.

 Awanaabe: My name is Awanaabe. It stands for fog being. That's how the spirits know me.  My pronouns are they them.  I do not have a REAL ID,  I do have my tribal ID.

Emma Needham: Awanaabe is Two Spirit—a group of people recognized as sacred within many Indigenous communities who embody both masculine and feminine spirits. For months, messaging on the REAL ID process has reminded them, and everyone else, that, starting on May 7th, anyone boarding domestic flights in the US will need a REAL ID.

[sound element: Airplane Sounds]

 Awanaabe:  Being able to travel is super important, and should be just a natural right for us, you know, here in the US, because we've always been here. Things like real id further prevent folks from having accessibility. So, to me, it's just another form of like erasing us in some ways and diminishing our value.

Emma Needham: Awanaabe is concerned about traveling, but also concerned about going through the REAL ID process.

Awanaabe:  I'm a little nervous to be traveling outside of Minnesota right now, 'cause in Minnesota, you can get your real ID with your gender marker. You know, I don't know if that's gonna make me necessarily a target to some folks. So that's my, that's the reason why I haven't went and got my REAL ID.

Emma Needham: For anyone who has changed their name, REAL ID requirements can create barriers or anxiety.  In addition, they may add challenges for people in rural areas.

Awanaabe: But you know, if you're a Two-spirit person and you're Native American, trying to get your ID just in general is sometimes difficult, but then adding those extra layers. Especially those of us who are in rural communities. I live out here on the White Earth Reservation. To go get your REAL ID, you have to go to one of the neighboring towns, which is 40 minutes away. Not everybody is able just to hop in their car and drive an hour away. Even our elders, they have to call the transportation line and get everything set up. Not everybody has the ability to take that time off from work. So, if you don't have everything, it just becomes so much more time consuming.

[sound element: Airplane Sounds] 

Emma Needham: Minnesota's Department of Motor Vehicle offices offer information about REAL ID requirements on their website including a short video explaining what you need to bring with you to apply:

Sani Brown-Adefope (TPT NOW Presenter for MN DVS REAL ID: Here's what you need to apply.... It's cheaper to pay with check or cash...(FO)]

Emma Needham: Through their hesitation, Awanaabe says:

Awanaabe: I do think that it's important that we do have people in our communities that are capable of going through those processes so that we can help others.

Emma Needham: Members of federally recognized tribes should note that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) recognizes tribal IDs as acceptable forms of identification. However, there may be instances where TSA requires a second, scannable ID like a state driver's license or other document for manual inspection, and travelers should plan for this.

Sani Brown-Adefope (TPT NOW Presenter for MN DVS REAL ID): Visit drive.mn.gov to learn more]

Emma Needham: For Minnesota Native News, I'm Emma Needham.
[sound element: Airplane Sounds]

Anchor Marie Rock: Next, the New Native Theatre Presents "The Nut, the Hermit, The Crow, and The Monk" which runs through May 4th. Here's Emma Needham with more.

Emma Needham: A sibling duo goes on a surreal self-help journey, inspired by stories like Alice in Wonderland and The Odyssey—but this time, it's through the lens of Native life, and the painful legacy of generations of forced assimilation at residential schools.

Charli Fool Bear: Mater is the mother figure—quirky, unpredictable. And she's part of this reflection of post-boarding school trauma.

Emma Needham: That's Charli Fool Bear, a member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and former artistic producer with New Native Theatre, who now stars in their latest production, The Nut, The Hermit, The Crow, and The Monk.

Charli Fool Bear:  The young characters are on this journey of not only getting through this experience of a hard childhood, but they're also learning to stay optimistic and kind and still love their family and find ways to love them that are good for them.

[sound element: "I'm over here! Where'd the rest of the family go? I don't know!?"]

Emma Needham: New Native Theatre is celebrating its 15th anniversary with the premiere of this play, written and co-directed by the company's founder, Rhiana Yazzie, who directed alongside Amber K. Ball.

[sound element: "Ugh, I hate everything, everything! EVERYTHING!! Oh forget it"…]

Emma Needham: Charli says it's important to recognize trauma within communities.

[sound element: "Dad, why can't we just get along? We're hardly ever in the same room together anymore!" (childlike crying)]

 Charli Fool Bear: I think just being in a play with Native people is healing. It's healing to see other native adults treated with care, treated with sensitivity,…treated with just a, a whole lot of consideration and accommodation.

Emma Needham: Fool Bear's experience at New Native Theater resonates with their identity.

Charli Fool Bear: To share something I love with people who understand where I come from? That's powerful.

Emma Needham: The show runs April 16 through May 4 at Gremlin Theatre in St. Paul. All performances are pay-what-you-can, with a suggested price of $35. For more information, visit newnativetheatre.org.

For Minnesota Native News, I'm Emma Needham.

[sound element: flute music (Minnesota Native News theme)]

Anchor Marie Rock: Minnesota Native News is produced by AMPERS, diverse radio for Minnesota's communities, made possible by funding from the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and the citizens of Minnesota.