Mending the Scars of Colonialism: Expounding Klamath Tribe’s Efforts to Evolve Back through Theresa May’s Community Based Play Salmon is everything (2014)

Abstract

Barry Wayne McCovey, a Yurok member of the Tribal Fisheries Department writes “civilization will come and go, but the river will remain” (Barry, 2018) adding to the many voices that surged against the rotting images of Salmon on the Klamath river - the fish kills of 2002. The Klamath River forms an indispensable part of the native life, and for McCovey and all others in his community, the Klamath defines their origin, identity, sustenance and a spiritual connection. The tragedy of 2002 fish kills not only killed thousands of Salmons but also marked an inconceivable damage to the indigenous lives. Theresa May, a theatre artist and scholar, along with a group of committed collaborators created a community-based play named Salmon is Everything. This issue-engaged play speaks from the perspective of natives, the ones often overlooked in mainstream literature. Salmon is Everything (2014) is an attempt to create an alternative written documentation in order to preserve the Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK). This study also focuses on how far the genre of community theatre awakens Eco-consciousness. This would also address the question whether this artistic form becomes a tool to reclaim a neo-indigenous narrative? Lastly, this paper also encompasses ways in which community theatre becomes a strategy to secure Indigenous Futurity.