On March 1, 2024, the Folger Shakespeare Library convened a virtual conversation around writing Native stories in DC. This conversation was produced in support of Where We Belong, Folger Theatre (2024), in association with Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company.

Where We Belong was written and performed by Madeline Sayet and directed by Mei Ann Teo.

Suzan Shown Harjo is an enrolled Cheyenne citizen of the Cheyenne & Arapaho Tribes, and is Hotvlkvlke Mvskokvlke, Nuyakv. She is founding president of The Morning Star Institute (1984-), which is dedicated to Native cultural and traditional rights and research, sacred places protection and stereotype-busting. She is an activist, poet, journalist, curator, playwright, a founding trustee of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian, and a Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient.

Dr. Elizabeth Rule (enrolled citizen, Chickasaw Nation) is a writer, public scholar, and advocate for Indigenous communities. She holds a Social Practice Residency at the Kennedy Center and is an Assistant Professor of Critical Race, Gender, and Culture Studies at American University.

Moderator Mary Phillips is an enrolled member of the Pueblo of Laguna tribe and also from the Umoⁿhoⁿ (Omaha) Tribe of Nebraska. Her career has focused on program evaluation, community-based research, community development, and strategic planning for tribes and Native Americans living in urban areas. She was the co-editor and a chapter author of the book, Speaking In Red: Healing and Mental Health for Native Americans. She is also a powwow dancer and sings "lady back-up" for Native American powwow drum groups.

For full speaker bios, please visit folger.edu