By Charley Macorn
May 5, 2025, the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous
Relatives, Native Theater Project, which operates out of Hillsboro’s Bag & Baggage Productions, announced that five playwrights would receive cash prizes to help develop their work to bring attention to the crisis of violence facing Indigenous people. This new slate of plays shine a light on the ongoing epidemic surrounding murdered and missing Indigenous people–specifically women–while weaving in deeply rooted themes of spirituality, family and Indigenous identity.
Among the selections is “I is for Invisible” by Cherokee actor, playwright, and director DeLanna Studi, which will receive further development, including an actor’s workshop and a staged reading next year at Bag & Baggage. The play explores the devastating impact of missing and murdered Indigenous women through the story of a family reeling in the first 48 hours after a loved one disappears. Inspired by both national crises and personal revelations—Studi learned during the writing process that a relative had also gone missing when she was a child—the play is a deeply emotional portrait of pain, resilience, and advocacy. Studi, who currently leads Native Voices, the only Equity theatre in the U.S. solely dedicated to developing and producing new works by Indigenous playwrights, described the play as a deeply personal and community-rooted project. Set in the wake of the 2019 Supreme Court case that restored some jurisdiction to tribal nations, “I is for Invisible” confronts the limitations that still remain.
“I wrote it out of frustration,” Studi said. “I’m actually safer here in New York than I am at home in Oklahoma. And you should be able to feel safe in your own home.”
Also among the winners is Honokee Dunn, whom Studi praises as a rising voice in the theater world: “They have so many beautiful stories, and I’m so excited they have this opportunity.”
Dunn, a Two-Spirit member of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians with Creek, Cherokee, Seminole, and Tunica-Biloxi heritage, traces their roots across the country — from California to Michigan to Oklahoma, where they now reside. Their play “Tourniquet” evolved from a short piece written when they were a teenager for the Native Voices Short Play Festival.
“The play was originally about home,” Dunn says. “It was a short 10-minute piece, but I just knew there was more to say.” After the festival, Honokee returned to the script with a new purpose. The result was a story that not only explores family and grief but also grapples head-on with the reality of violence against Indigenous women.
“Every single person in Native communities has been affected by this, in one way or another,” they explained. “Whether it’s someone they know, someone their friend knows, or just the way it affects the whole community.”
Both Studi and Dunn hope their works bring new attention to the thousands of missing Indigenous people across North America. Even with more awareness of the issue being brought up in recent years, there is still more work to do. “We can spread information more easily now,” Dunn said. “But that doesn’t always mean real change is happening. It still feels like we’re not getting the structural support we need.”
Dunn hopes one day to see “Tourniquet” performed in Creek Nation territory, a homecoming that would bring the story full circle. For now, they continue to write and act — driven by a commitment to truthful storytelling and cultural preservation.
“I haven’t experienced all the things I write about,” Dunn acknowledged. “But I do the work to make sure I represent these stories genuinely. These things are real, and they happen to our people. The least I can do is make sure our voices are heard.”
And across the country and across the world, these playwrights, and many others like them, are making sure that their voices stand out.
“We’re seeing so many beautiful stories coming through. These playwrights make us proud,” Studi says. “And we’re just getting started.”
