Planet 2050 Reflections

The beginning of “Papakō: The Journey,” photo by author

I had the pleasure of attending Prof Freer’s “Weaving Worlds” session as well as the “Papakō: The Journey” play put on by members of the Miakan-Garza band. Both focused on the climate and our relationship to earth in very different ways, but they had the similarity of mentioning (and foregrounding, in the latter case) Indigenous peoples and their role in the environment.

Fabric scraps collected for “Weaving Worlds,” photo by author

I really enjoyed “Weaving Worlds” because it reminded me of our dependance on textiles as a society and how we can transfer objects from simple scraps to activities or installations. In the same way, we can treat all forms of waste or scrap pieces as valuable and worth redeeming through reuse or creative re-invention. This will be useful for our project in Japan because I think that we should make an intentional decision to use upcycled materials wherever possible, both for aesthetics and to reaffirm the overall message of our experience.

Storytelling scene in “Papakō,” photo by author

The play was really fun to experience because it conveyed messages about Indigeneity, repatriation of human remains to Native tribes, and respect towards the environment in a pretty unconventional way. It was something that I can imagine being very successful for younger audiences (which is the group is was targeted towards originally, according to the one of the playwrights in the introduction) in making these important issues digestible and discussable. Some of the dialogue between characters could be relatively shallow at times, but considering the audience, it was acceptable. I really enjoyed hearing about the Miakan-Garza band’s perspective on the human remains issues I’ve discussed at lengths in my Museum Studies classes. This event was also advertized through the NAIS (Native American and Indigenous Studies) Certificate Program I am a part of, so it connected many of my interests together. I even bought a book at an art history conference last year on the iconography of the White Shaman murals discussed at length in the play. I am looking forward to reading it and visiting the murals in person someday with the added stories that this group of Native Americans has told about it.