in the court of the conqueror
premiered march 10-19, 2022
at Abrons Arts Center, NYC
In the Court of the Conqueror is a solo performance that confronts the history of how the courts have diminished the Tribal Sovereignty of Native Nations, juxtaposed against sanchez’ experiences navigating generational trauma and Indigenous identity in an Ecuadorian immigrant household. In the Court of the Conqueror is the second installment of sanchez’ performance series, Performing the Constitution, in which he reflects on and analyzes the scope of how institutional racism and gender bias are embedded in this nation’s foundational document. As part of george emilio’s artistic research for this performance work, he enrolled in a Masters of Legal Studies in Indigenous Peoples Law during the early months of the Covid pandemic. He completed his Masters in IPL August 2021 and will receive his diploma in May 2022 from the University of Oklahoma, College of Law.
The performance is in collaboration with visual artist, Patty Ortiz. As an integral part of the creative process of making this piece, the two artists travelled across seven states, and the ancestral homelands of Native Nations, where the Supreme Court cases cited in the work took place.
Interacting with images and documentation of the related historic locations, Sanchez and Ortiz create a multidisciplinary experience that reexamines “place” and its relationship to the past and present historical conflicts of these lands.
Upcoming performances 2022:
Abrons Arts Center, NYC
March 10-12, 17-19
Hopkins Center for the Arts, Dartmouth College, NH
April 21-22
University of Oklahoma, OK
May 13
El Centro Su Teatro, Denver, CO
November 5,6, 2022
Alden Theater, McLean, VA
November 19, 2022
Emmanuel College/Mass Arts, Boston, MA
February 23, 2023
Harlem Stage, NYC
November 3, 2023
12:30PM School Matinee
7:30PM
Both Performances followed with a Q&A moderated by Gonzalo Casel
Onondaga Nation/Syracuse University, NY
December 9, 2023
7PM Schine Goldstein Auditorium
VALLEY REPORTER
Still from In the Court of the Conqueror of the home occupying the ancestral lands of Kaskaskia, Tamaroa and Piankishaw Nations among other Mississippian Cultures. Image by Patty Ortiz.
Still from In the Court of the Conqueror. Image by Maria Baranova.
Still from In the Court of the Conqueror. Image by Maria Baranova.
Still from In the Court of the Conqueror. Image by Patty Ortiz