Seating: General Admission Seating
In collaboration with visual artist Patty Ortiz
Over the last 30 years, george emilio sanchez has built a reputation as a performer of profound contributions as an artist advancing cultural reform through innovation and a richly crafted and defined artistic voice. In the Court of the Conqueror features a solo performance by sanchez and visual storytelling by his collaborator, visual artist Patty Ortiz. Together, they confront the history of how the U.S. Supreme Court has diminished the Tribal Sovereignty of Native Nations. The piece also tells the story of sanchez's experiences of navigating generational trauma regarding his Indigenous identity while being raised in an Ecuadorian immigrant household.
The work focuses on several Federal Indian Landmark cases, leading up to the Johnson v. M'Intosh 1823 Supreme Court case that applied the Doctrine of Discovery that still holds legal precedent in our courts of the conqueror. sanchez and Ortiz traveled across hundreds of geographic miles and ancestral homelands to create this interdisciplinary performance that combines text and video projections to reveal this country's ongoing conflicts with Native Nations in search of Indigenous justice and sovereignty.
As part of his “artistic research” for this piece, sanchez enrolled in a Master of Legal Studies in Indigenous Peoples Law program at the University of Oklahoma during the COVID-19 lockdown and graduated in August 2021. This performance is the second installment of sanchez’s “Performing the Constitution” series.
“george emilio sanchez's work combines relatable vulnerability with rigorous inquiry into histories seldom well-explored or told. With Patty Ortiz's exquisite video design, sanchez's latest performance — In the Court of the Conqueror — deals with alarming facts of colonial/Indigenous encounter, federal law, and court rulings, and the ongoing struggle for justice. It's no small miracle that this appealing, skillful storyteller can instruct as effectively as he entertains and vice versa. I'm grateful to have witnessed this work which deserves to be seen and discussed throughout the US and beyond.” — Eva Yaa Asantewaa
This program is supported, in part, by, public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council. Additional support is provided by the Diana King Memorial Fund presented by the Charles and Lucille King Family Foundation.
george emilio sanchez
Patty Ortiz