1977 The beginning of the American Indian Theater Co.

 No stereotypes 
Can Be Expected In Indian Plays
by George Boosey
1977 Jan 23, The Bridgeport 
     Tulsa, Okla – Neither savages nor stoic warriors, American Indians are human beings who have something to say to the American people, according to members of the American Indian Theater Co.  
      “We are breaking away from the stereotypes,” said Shirley Elm, who works with the theater company and with the Tulsa Indian Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse.
      “A stereotype is not humor, whether it is a good stereotype or a bad stereotype. Hollywood is in to good stereotypes now.”
      The AITC, organized in Dec 1975, has produced one play and is planning another for March, but is careful not to move too fast – quality is important.
      “I think the Indian has something to say and I think the people want to listen,” Ms. Elm said.
      The company’s first production was “The Ecstasy of Rita Joe,” a serious play written by Peter Rygn, who grew up on an Indian reservation although not an Indian himself. The place is about an Indian girl, Rita  Joe, who has trouble making the adjustment from reservation life to city life, and her boy friend, Jaimie Paul,  an angry young man who becomes impatient change. 
365 days, American history, Alexie, American Indians, American west, amerikka, American Indian, Atlanta Braves, AIM, Arapaho, amerindian, American Indian Movement, assimilation, Andrew Jackson, ally, aboriginal, American Indian, Buck, burial ground, butt-hurt, blood and thunder, blackfoot, bloodthirsty, bullying, braves, Cleveland Indians, comic books, Christopher Columbus, Columbus day, Code talkers, cultural heritage, Cherokee, Choctaw, Cheyenne, Cherokee Indians, civil rights, casino, Carlisle, chieftain, change the mascot, cowboy and Indian, cowboys, crying Indian, changers, change the mascot, cultural appropriation, Clarke Indians, debunk, digger Indian, DAPL, defend the sacred, dream catcher, dime novels, decolonize, Donald Trump, ethnic slur, frybread, first nations, feathers, fake news, Fennimore Cooper, Florida State, Feathers and Paint, genocide, Geronimo, Great Spirit, Hiawatha, history, Holy man, headdress, headdress, high school mascots, half-breed, historical truth, Indian braves, Indian chief, indigenous, Indianz, Indian chief, injun, Indian country, indigenous, Indian wars Indian blood, Indian problem, INDN, Indian Princess, Indian Day, Indian mascots, indigenous culture, Indians, Indian heart, keep the name, Lone Star Dietz, Logan, literature, Lancaster Redskins, mascots, mythbusters, moving-picture, militant, militia, mascots, Momaday, Mama What's an Indian, manifest destiny, Native Truth, native news, nonnative, native nations, North American Indian, Native American ally, Native American wisdom, Native Indian, Native American native truth, mascots, North American Indian, Navajo, native heart, native lives matter, navajoe, noble Indian, Native religion, Native heart, new age, NDN, Native, native proud, Native American Heritage, Native American Heritage Month, Native American, Order of Red Men, old west, on-line bullying, Pocahontas, Pilgrim, picturesque savage, proud native, Pocahontas, proverb, Paint and Feathers, peace pipe, Plains Indians, protests, playing Indian, powwow, politically correct, part Indian, part Indian, papoose, Pocahottie, proud to be, quote, Redskins, Red Men, racism, racist, red roots, Red raiders, real skins, Red Man, red face, reservations, squaw, stereotypes, scalping, Sioux, Standing Bear, Sioux, Sockalexis, Soxalexis, settlers, snowflakes, stoic, school mascots, savage, sterotype, stereotype, Standing Rock, Sitting Bull, Seminoles, tradition, Terri Jean, treaty, treaty rights, totem, tomahawk, reservation, tribe, trail of tears, textbooks, tribes, tribal nations, Thanksgiving, trolls, Trail of Tears, Tammany, Tecumseh, voting rights, Washington Redskins, wild west, walking the red road, wounded knee, war bonnet, Wahoo, Wild westing, warpath, warriors, wannabe, water is life, white privilege, US Indians, passive racism, equal rights,
1977 Jan 23, The Bridgeport 

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