Chicago Children's Theatre - Land Acknowledgement
Channel: CCTv By Chicago Children's Theatre
Date: 2022-05-11

Chicago Children's Theatre wants to acknowledge that we stand upon the traditional homelands of the Native Nations and peoples of this region. We understand this land is of great importance to them. Let’s remember to honor, respect and partner with the people whose lands we benefit from today.  

Chicago Children's Theatre's Land Acknowledgment is part of a larger virtual production call The Relocation of Nokwsi by Robert Hicks Jr, inspired by the experiences of his grandfather, the title character. Nokwsi invites audiences to gather round and listen to the story of his journey away from his people, the Cherokee, Paiute, Yakama, and Shoshone, to live and work in Chicago. No longer surrounded by nature, he begins to navigate a world of noise and lights, where buildings shade warmth from the sun, and people are always in a rush.  As he adjusts to city life, he encounters a series of obstacles from homesickness, to air pollution, to racism, but eventually finds joy in his new community and beauty through the concrete. This poetic piece conveys the admiration the writer has for his grandfather with gentle day-to-day lessons on how to stay connected to ourselves, our family, and the earth even during times of change. 

The Relocation of Nokwsi is the second production to emerge from the Springboard Project, an initiative launched by Chicago Children’s Theatre to foster new works made especially for today’s young people. 

Learn more and view the full production free at chicagochildrenstheatre.org/event/nokwsi

Credits
Written, Narrated, and Created by Robert Hicks Jr
Illustrated by Tokeya Waci U
Original Music and Sound Design by Alex Kimball Williams
Director of Photography Jeffrey Paschal
Puppet DirectorWill Bishop
Puppet Assistant Lonnae Hickman
Produced byWill Bishop and Jacqueline Russell
Pow Wow footage by Kayla Bointy, Dayann Harrison, and Brennah Wahweotten