For Hellen Woodward: Performed by 2 Female Indigenous Artists, 2018.
Before staging this piece both artists contemplated the history of the site. All sounds used in this composition are both natural and human-produced, recorded on location at the Tulsa Garden Center. Suzanne Kite mapped the site-specific sounds onto her body, which were then triggered based on her movement. Harkins sang in the Muscogee Creek language, about the relationship between Hellen Woodward, her father, and the land.
Hellen Woodward
1899-1985
Muscogee Creek Citizen
Original owner of allotted land now known as Woodward Park. The land was sold in 1909 by her non-Indigenous father to the city of Tulsa. At the time, Woodward was a minor. She lost one of the hardest fought land suits in the history of the Tulsa.
The piece is about honoring land with our musical expression, it is about histories that are unearthed and experienced collectively.
Voice: Elisa Harkins (Cherokee/Muscogee)
Custom Body Interface: Suzanne Kite (Oglala Lakota)
Produced by Elisa Harkins
