16th Annual Short Play Festival - Merciless Indian Savages
Sat, Mar 28
|Autry Museum of the American West
We invite you to join us for an afternoon of sharp, fearless storytelling that challenges what we think we know about 1776—and who gets to define history.
Time & Location
Mar 28, 2026, 4:00 PM
Autry Museum of the American West, 4700 Western Heritage Way, Los Angeles, CA 90027, USA
About the event
MERCILESS INDIAN SAVAGES: A Native Perspective on the Declaration of Independence
As the United States approaches the 250th anniversary of 1776 and the signing of the Declaration of Independence, this short play festival turns its gaze toward the founding document Americans are taught to revere—but rarely taught to read closely.
“We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal . . .”
Many Americans memorized those words in elementary school, reciting them with pride. Far fewer were taught that the same document—championing equality, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness—also describes Native people as “merciless Indian savages.”*
This year, Native Voices invited Native playwrights to interrogate what this country does—and does not—teach about its original inhabitants. What lies were passed off as history? What omissions shaped the classroom narrative? What stories did we learn to tell, to teachers, classmates, and ourselves?
The resulting short plays form a…