Muriel Miguel facts for kids

Muriel Miguel was born on August 15, 1937. She is a Native American director, choreographer, writer, actor, and teacher. She has Guna and Rappahannock family roots. Muriel grew up in Brooklyn, New York.

In 1976, Muriel Miguel started the Spiderwoman Theater with her sisters, Gloria Miguel and Lisa Mayo. This was the first Native American women's theater group to become famous around the world. It is still the longest-running Native American female performance group today. Muriel Miguel has directed almost all of Spiderwoman Theater's shows since they began. She is currently the artistic director of the group.

Muriel Miguel's Early Life

Muriel Miguel was born in Brooklyn, New York. She is the youngest of three sisters. Her mother, Elmira Miguel, was from the Rappahannock tribe in Virginia. Her father was a Guna Indian from islands near Panama.

When Muriel was in elementary school, she was taught that Native American culture was "dead." To show this was not true, she created a group called the Little Eagles with her friend Louis Mofsie. The Little Eagles brought Native children together. They encouraged them to be proud of their culture. They met in a church basement and performed traditional songs and dances. The Little Eagles group is still active in New York City. It is now known as the Thunderbird American Indian Dancers.

Muriel Miguel later studied modern dance. She learned from famous dancers like Alwin Nickolais, Erick Hawkins, and Jean Erdman. She was also an early member of Joseph Chaikin's Open Theater.

Muriel Miguel's Career

Starting the Spiderwoman Theater

In the early 1970s, Muriel Miguel started working with women from different backgrounds. She focused on telling stories through sounds, movements, and feelings. She asked Lois Weaver and Josephine Mofsie Tarrant to share their personal stories. Muriel then combined these stories into a performance. She used a special way of combining stories called "storyweaving." This method became a key part of Muriel's style.

In 1976, Muriel's sisters, Lisa Mayo and Gloria Miguel, joined the group. With Pam Verge and Lois Weaver, they formed the Spiderwoman Theater. They often explored topics like gender roles and cultural stereotypes. Their first show, Women in Violence, aimed to highlight issues of violence against women. It premiered at Washington Square Methodist Church. Muriel wanted to express strong feelings about the "Indian Movement" and challenges faced by Native people. They took Women in Violence to a festival in France. They were the first feminist theater group to perform there. In 1977, they presented their second play, The Lysistrata Numbah!. This play combined the ancient Greek story of Lysistrata with personal stories from the group members.

Later, the group changed, and the three sisters continued as the Spiderwoman Theater. They knew it was important for Indigenous stories to be shared. Using their unique storyweaving method, they became very important in Indigenous arts and theater. They created many other shows. These included Trilogy: Friday Night Jealousy, My Sister Ate Dirt (1978), Cabaret: An Evening of Disgusting Songs and Pukey Images (1979), Oh, What a Life (1980), The Fittin' Room (1980), and Sun, Moon and Feather & Split Britches (1981). Many of these plays questioned gender roles, racism, and social unfairness.

Muriel Miguel continues to direct plays for the theater. She is still its artistic director.

Teaching and Education

Muriel Miguel was a professor of drama at Bard College. She also taught Indigenous Performance and directed the Aboriginal Dance Program at The Banff Centre for the Arts for seven years. Muriel also worked with Native youth in cities on health issues. She developed shows for The Minnesota Native American AIDS Task Force, which is now called The Indigenous Peoples Task Force. She teaches Indigenous Performance at the Centre for Indigenous Theatre (CIT). She also directs the CIT's three-week summer program. Muriel also leads Storyweaving Workshops in the US, Canada, and Europe.

Writing and Choreography

Muriel Miguel created the dances for Throw Away Kids and She Knew She Was She. These were for the Aboriginal Dance Program at the Banff Centre. Muriel is also known for her one-woman shows. These include Hot' N' Soft, Trail of the Otter, and Red Mother. Hot' N' Soft is included in a book called Two-Spirit Acts: Queer Indigenous Performances. This show explores themes of identity within the Indigenous community. It touches on personal experiences and stories. Through this work, Muriel Miguel shares her identity within the two-spirit and Indigenous communities.

Other Projects

In 2019, Muriel Miguel directed a play called The Unnatural and Accidental Women by Marie Clements. This was the first show presented by Canada's National Arts Centre's Indigenous Theatre department.

Awards and Honors

In 1997, Muriel Miguel and her sisters helped start the Native American Women Playwrights Archive at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Because of their important work in theater, they received honorary Doctorates of Fine Arts from Miami University. In the same year, she was chosen for the Native and Hawaiian Women of Hope poster. In 2003, Muriel received the first Lipinsky Residency for the Women's Studies Department at San Diego State University. In 2010, Muriel and her sisters received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Women's Caucus for Art.

Muriel Miguel is also a member of the National Theatre Conference. In 2015, she attended the Rauschenberg Residency. In 2016, Muriel Miguel was named a Guggenheim Fellow. In 2018, Muriel received an award of $275,000 from the 2018 Duke Awards. She received the 2019 Distinguished Career Award at the Southeastern Theatre Conference. Muriel Miguel was also featured in the 2022 book 50 Key Figures in Queer US Theatre. A chapter about her was written by theater scholar Christy Stanlake.